Wording: closest date vs nearest date?

Question

Which sounds more natural?

The closest date is ...

or

The nearest date is ...

Context: It is a variable name in a software application I rewrite, which - in short - expresses the most close date to a given date.

closest date yields 55k results of Google, vs 33k for nearest date.

Erik Kowal · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-02 09:27:30Z

6

I don't think there is any significant difference.

answered May 2, 2014 at 9:27

Erik Kowal

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Thanks for your answer, I tend to think, that closest has a more temporal semantic, whereas nearest is more spatial.
– miku
May 2, 2014 at 9:41
I'm a native speaker, and I don't sense the temporal vs. spatial distinction that you evidently feel...
– Erik Kowal
May 2, 2014 at 9:47
I'm no native speaker, so I can't really tell where I get this distinction from. Thanks again for the quick reply.
– miku
May 2, 2014 at 9:48

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