站在同一階上的人
這一支就是 par「相等」的直接後代：先是「跟你一樣高度的人」，再固定下來變成英國那一整個「同為貴族」的階層。
equal, contemporary · noun · C1
a person who is the same age as you, or who has the same job, ability, or position in life as you.
同儕；同輩
核心畫面
Two people standing on the same step — same age, same rank, same level of skill. Nobody is looking down at anybody.
peer 的核心畫面可以想成「兩個人站在同一階上」：年紀相當、位置相當、本事相當，誰也不在誰之上。重點不是熟不熟、要…更多收起
peer 的核心畫面可以想成「兩個人站在同一階上」：年紀相當、位置相當、本事相當，誰也不在誰之上。重點不是熟不熟、要不要好，而是「高度一樣」——所以同班同學是 peer，同職級的同事也是 peer，即使你們不熟。From the word’s history
The noun comes from Anglo-French peir / Old French per, from Latin par 'equal' (c.1300, 'an equal in rank, character, or status'); the British nobleman sense follows in the late 14c. The VERB 'to peer' is a completely different word: 1590s, a variant of Middle English piren, probably related to East Frisian piren 'to look', of uncertain origin. Source: Online Etymology Dictionary, entries 'peer (n.)' and 'peer (v.)'.
名詞的 peer 來自古法文 per，源頭是拉丁文 par「相等」（同一個 par 也活在 compare、par value 裡），大約 1300 年進英文，意思就是「地位、身分相當的人」；到十四世紀後期才多出「英國貴族」這一層。動詞的 peer（瞇眼細看）跟這條線完全沒關係：它是 1590 年代才出現的另一個字，可能跟東弗里斯蘭語 piren「看」有關，來歷至今不確定。也就是說，這兩個 peer 只是長得一樣，不是同一個字。資料來源：Online Etymology Dictionary（etymonline.com）「peer (n.)」與「peer (v.)」兩條。
Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entries 'peer (n.)' (< Old French per < Latin par 'equal') and 'peer (v.)' (1590s, variant of piren, prob. cf. East Frisian piren 'to look', origin uncertain)
Two branches
瞇著眼看清楚
這一支跟上面那個 peer 沒有血緣關係，兩個字只是拼法撞在一起，所以不必去想「同輩」跟「凝視」有什麼關聯——沒有。
look closely · verb · C1
to look very carefully at something, especially because it is hard to see clearly.
凝視；瞇眼細看
原始詞典資料10 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
peerverb詞源 1/pɪə/
- 1
To look with difficulty, or as if searching for something.
- […] I should be still / Plucking the grass, to know where sits the wind, / Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads;
- As if thro’ a dungeon grate he peer’d With broad and burning face.
- 2
obsoleteTo come in sight; to appear.
- And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, / So honour peereth in the meanest habit.
- I, I, let you alone, cunning Artificer! / See, hovv his gorget peeres aboue his govvne; / To tell the people, in vvhat danger he vvas.
peernoun詞源 1/pɪə/
- 1
A look; a glance.
- Blessed are those organisers who provide one-and-all with a name tag, for then the participants will chat together. A quick peer at your neighbour's lapel is much the simplest way to become introduced […]
peernoun詞源 2/pɪə̯/
- 1
Somebody who is, or something that is, at a level or of a value equal (to that of something else).
- In song he never had his peer.
- Shall they draw off to their privileged quarters, and consort only with their peers?
- 2
Someone who is approximately the same age (as someone else).
- 3
A noble with a title, i.e., a peerage, and in times past, with certain rights and privileges not enjoyed by commoners.
- a peer of the realm
- a noble peer of mickle trust and power
- 4
A comrade; a companion; an associate.
- He all his Peeres in beautie did surpas,
peerverb詞源 2/pɪə̯/
- 1
To make equal in rank.
- Being now Peered with the Lord Chancellor, and the Earl of Essex.
- 2
To carry communications traffic terminating on one's own network on an equivalency basis to and from another network, usually without charge or payment. Contrast with transit where one pays another network provider to carry one's traffic.
peernoun詞源 3/piː.ə/
- 1
informalSomeone who pees, someone who urinates.
- As was the caveat about peeing in a pool. Of course, peeing in a pool wasn't dangerous to the person ... If you peed in a pool, and you were carrying the polio virus, presumably *other* people were put at risk, not the peer (pee-er?).
- SOunds^([sic]) like you've already broken him quite well, if he's peeing when disciplined. Pretty sad. He's not a dog, not that treating a dog like this is any better either. You've turned your child into a submissive peer.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。