proximity

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2024 is: proximity \prahk-SIM-uh-tee\ noun

Proximity is the quality or state of being near or [proximate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proximate). The word proximity is synonymous with [closeness](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/closeness).

// The apartment's proximity to hiking trails is a definite plus.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proximity)

Examples:

"... research on employee proximity conducted at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that sitting near senior colleagues led junior engineers to learn more and to be less likely to leave their jobs, an effect that was particularly pronounced for women and younger employees." — Amy Edmondson, WIRED, 8 Jan. 2024

Did you know?

The fact that the star closest in proximity to our sun (approximately 4.2 [light-years](https://bit.ly/47Ztp3a) distant) is named [Proxima Centauri](https://bit.ly/3ufzZVG) is no coincidence. The history of proximity hinges on the idea of closeness, both physical and metaphorical. English speakers borrowed the word from Middle French, which in turn acquired it from forms of the Latin adjective proximus, meaning "nearest" or "next." Close relatives of proximity in English include [proximal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proximal), [proximate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proximate), and the somewhat more rare [approximal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/approximal) (meaning "[contiguous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contiguous)"). A number of other languages, including [Catalan](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Catalan), Portuguese, and Italian, have similar words that come from the Latin proximus.