Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Peer

Peer (pēr) , intransitive verb

[Old French parir, pareir equiv. to French paraître to appear, Latin parere. Compare Appear.]

1.
To come in sight; to appear. [Poetic]
So honor peereth in the meanest habit. — Shakespeare
See how his gorget peers above his gown! — B. Jonson
2.
To look narrowly or curiously or intently; to peep; as, the peering day. — Milton
Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads. — Shakespeare
As if through a dungeon grate he peered. — Coleridge

Peer , noun

[Old English per, Old French per, French pair, from Latin par equal. Compare Apparel, Pair, Par, n., Umpire.]

1.
One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.
In song he never had his peer. — Dryden
Shall they consort only with their peers? — I. Taylor
2.
A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate.
He all his peers in beauty did surpass. — Spenser
3.
A nobleman; a member of one of the five degrees of the British nobility, namely, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron; as, a peer of the realm.
A noble peer of mickle trust and power. — Milton
Collocations (2)
House of Peers or The Peers , the British House of Lords. See Parliament.
Spiritual peers , the bishops and archibishops, or lords spiritual, who sit in the House of Lords.

Peer , transitive verb

To make equal in rank. [Rare] — Heylin

Peer , transitive verb

To be, or to assume to be, equal. [Rare]