Adjacent, a.
Etymology: [L. adjacens, -centis, p. pr. of adjacere to lie near; ad + jac to lie: cf. F. adjacent.]
Lying near, close, or contiguous; neighboring; bordering on; as, a field adjacent to the highway. "The adjacent forest." B. Jonson. Adjacent or contiguous angle. (Geom.) See Angle.
Syn. -- Adjoining; contiguous; near. -- Adjacent, Adjoining, Contiguous. Things are adjacent when they lie close each other, not necessary in actual contact; as, adjacent fields, adjacent villages, etc. I find that all Europe with her adjacent isles is peopled with Christians. Howell. Things are adjoining when they meet at some line or point of junction; as, adjoining farms, an adjoining highway. What is spoken of as contiguous should touch with some extent of one side or the whole of it; as, a row of contiguous buildings; a wood contiguous to a plain.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Adjacent, n.
That which is adjacent. [R.] Locke.
Shades of meaning
Adjacent farms may not be connected; if adjoining, they meet at the boundary-line. Conterminous would imply that their dimensions were exactly equal on the side where they adjoin. Contiguous may be used for either adjacent or adjoining. Abutting refers rather to the end of one building or estate than to the neighborhood of another. Buildings may be adjacent or adjoining that are not attached. Near is a relative word, places being called near upon the railroad which would elsewhere be deemed remote. Neighboring always implies such proximity that the inhabitants may be neighbors. Next views some object as the nearest of several or many; next neighbor implies a neighborhood.
Prepositions
The farm was adjacent to the village.