Etymologically
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distance

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɪs.tᵊns/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English distaunce,[2][3] borrowed from Old French destance (“discord, quarrel”),[2][4] with later senses taken directly from Latin distantia (“a standing apart”),[2][5] from distāns (“standing apart”), present participle of distāre (“to stand apart”),[2][3] from dis- (“apart”) and stāre (“to stand”),[2] from Proto-Indo-European *sta- (“to stand”).[2] The verb is from the noun.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Discord, disagreement, dispute: 1297 in the OED,[4] and about 1300 in Etymonline, as “a dispute, civil strife, rebellion”.[2]

Semantic evolution

The original sense of quarrelling, from Old French, has long been obsolete.[4][7] The physical sense came from Latin: the extent of space between two places is from the late 14th century in Etymonline[2] and about 1440 in the OED,[4] and was also used of intervals of time.[2] Remoteness, the condition of being far off, is from 1594,[4] and the figurative sense of aloofness or reserve in manner from the 1590s.[2] Keep one's distance was figurative from the start, about 1600, and at a distance is from the 1650s.[2] In horse racing distance was a set space behind the winning post, and go the distance, from the 1930s, seems to come from boxing, where it meant the scheduled length of a bout.[2] The verb, “to place at a distance”, is from 1578,[4][3] “to outstrip” from 1642,[4] and the reflexive sense “to dissociate oneself” is the modern one.[7][6] The adjective use in distance learning is from 1972.[3]

Timeline

  • 1297 – discord, a quarrel.[4]
  • late 14th century – extent of space between two places.[2]
  • 1578 – verb, to place at a distance.[4][3]
  • 1590s – aloofness, reserve.[2]
  • 1594 – remoteness.[4]
  • c. 1600 – keep one's distance.[2]
  • 1642 – verb, to outstrip.[4]
  • 1650s – at a distance.[2]
  • 1930s – go the distance.[2]
  • 1972 – distance learning.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The amount of space between two points or things.
  2. The fact of being apart; remoteness; a far-off place: in the distance.
  3. A length of time between two events.
  4. Coolness or reserve in personal relations.
  5. The full length of a race or contest.

Verb

  1. To place or keep at a distance; to dissociate oneself: she distanced herself from the decision.
  2. To leave behind; to outrun.

Word family

  • distanceless
  • equidistance
  • long-distance
  • outdistance
  • aesthetic distance
  • braking distance
  • focal distance
  • horizon distance

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster