schier

Meaning

Adj

next, adjacent, immediate, soon, sudden

Adv

soon, nearly, almost

Concepts

sheer

nearly

almost

about

mere

practically

stark

merely

approximately

plum

to a T

roughly

absolutely

sheerly

simply

some

to pieces

unconditionally

downright

just about

virtually

Synonyms

beinahe

fast

nahezu

ungefähr

bloß

rein

pur

lediglich

nur

überhaupt

gar

nichts als

einzig und allein

absolut

und sei es nur

allein

alleinig

ausschließlich

blank

einzig

eitel

ganz und gar

lauter

schlechterdings

total

ziemlich

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʃiːɐ̯/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: schir

Inherited from Old High German: skeri

Cognate with Church Slavic: скоръ

Cognate with Russian: ско́рый

Cognate with Lithuanian: skėrỹs

Cognate with Ancient Greek: σκαίρειν

Cognate with English: sheer

Borrowed from Low German: -

Inherited from Middle High German: schīr

In summary

From Middle High German schir (“immediate, quick”) (adv. schire), Old High German skeri (“sharp, acute, quick, rapid”), likely cognate with Old Church Slavonic скоръ (skorŭ, “rapid”) (Russian ско́рый (skóryj)), Lithuanian skėrỹs (“grasshopper”), Ancient Greek σκαίρειν (skaírein, “to jump”); if so, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerd- (“to move, sway, swing, jump”).
Grimm assumes partial conflation with scheir (“pure, bright”) (English sheer).