Those who live in adjacent properties are neighbors.
Neighbor is a term that comes from the Latin vicīnus (which, in turn, comes from vicus and means "neighborhood" or "place" ). The concept is used to name someone who lives with others in the same building , neighborhood or town , although in independent homes. That is to say: the members of a family that live in the same house are not neighbors of each other, but rather they are neighbors of the families that reside in neighboring or nearby homes.
For example: “I have problems with my neighbor because he listens to music at a very high volume at night,” “I moved three months ago and I still don't know my neighbors,” “Monica got married with her neighbor,” “ “A group of neighbors appeared in court to denounce the existence of businesses that sell stolen merchandise in the neighborhood.”
The notion of neighbor, therefore, depends on geographical proximity . In a strict sense, neighbors are those who live in adjacent houses or apartments. In any case, the term can be extended to cover entire neighborhoods or towns.
Neighborhood meeting
There is an element that becomes an indispensable tool not only to achieve perfect coexistence between all neighbors, when trying to solve the problems that may arise, but also to deal with any setbacks that appear. With the latter we refer to issues such as renovations, breakdowns and damages. Specifically, we are mentioning what is called a neighborhood association . This is a meeting that is convened periodically in the building in question and must have representatives from each of the households that make up the community.
A president as well as a member or a secretary, chosen from among all the neighbors and by them, are the ones in charge of presiding over said meeting where projects can be proposed, solve problems that have to be resolved before the authorities, put an end to infrastructure deficiencies. …
Conflicts between neighbors are frequent.
Coexistence problems
Living with neighbors can be complicated. As in any social field, respect and understanding are needed to avoid conflicts. The problem is that, while in intra-family coexistence there is extensive knowledge of each member and the ties are marked by affection, neighbors tend to be strangers who are only known, in part, with the passage of time.
In Spain , to mention one case, there have been two television series that have precisely, in a comedic way, addressed the conflicts, gossip and problems that arise within neighborhood communities. These are “There is no one alive here” and “The one that is coming” .
Other uses of the term neighbor
Nor can we ignore the existence of a series of terms or expressions that are used colloquially. This would be the case of “neighbor's son” . This refers to any person who was born in a town or who is the child of parents who were established in said town.
Neighbor, finally, can be used as an adjective to name similar, coincident or similar : “The president and the governor have neighboring positions regarding international trade.”