far

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /fɑː/, US /fɑːr/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English fer, later far,^[2][3] inherited from Old English feorr (“far, remote; to a great distance”),^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *ferrō,^[3][4] originally a comparative form.^[3][4][5] Its cognates are Old Frisian fēr, Old Saxon ferr, Dutch ver, Old High German ferro (modern German fern), Old Norse fjarri and Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍂𐌰 (faírra).^[3][6] It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *per- (“through, forward, beyond”),^[2][3] the root also of Ancient Greek πέρα (péra, “beyond”), Latin per (“through”), Sanskrit पर (pára, “beyond, farther”), Hittite parā (“out of”) and Old Irish íre (“farther”).^[2][6][4] The change of vowel from -e- to -a- is the same as in dark.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To a great distance, or long ago: Old English feorr is recorded about 725.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Far and wide “everywhere” has paired the two words since the 9th century.^[2] The adjective, probably developed from the adverb in West Germanic,^[2][5] meant “remote, distant”.^[2] The comparative farther, Middle English ferther (about 1378), is a variant of further, and farthest was formed after nearer and nearest.^[3] Far-fetched (before 1562) replaced earlier far-fet, which meant “brought from afar” (before 1349) and “forced, strained” (about 1400).^[3] The adjective also describes the most extreme political views (the far right),^[7] and of animals and vehicles the far side is the right-hand one.^[7] The Far East, for China, Japan and their neighbours, is from 1838,^[2] and far-reaching (1824) and far-flung (1895) are 19th-century compounds.^[3] An Old English verb feorran “to put far off” survived only in dialect.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English feorr.^[3]
• 9th century – far and wide.^[2]
• c. 1200 – ferr (Ormulum).^[3]
• before 1250 – faraway.^[3]
• before 1325 – farr (Cursor Mundi).^[3]
• before 1349 – far-fet, brought from afar.^[3]
• c. 1378 – ferther, farther.^[3]
• before 1562 – far-fetched.^[3]
• 1824 – far-reaching.^[3]
• 1838 – Far East.^[2]
• 1895 – far-flung.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. To, from or at a great distance.
2. To or at a particular distance, degree or point: how far did you get?
3. Very much, considerably: far better.
4. At or to a remote time: far in the future.
5. To an advanced stage: went too far.

Adjective

1. Distant, remote in space or time.
2. The more distant of two: the far side.
3. Long, extensive: a far journey.
4. Holding the most extreme political views: the far left.
5. Of an animal or vehicle, on the right side.

Word family

• farness

Related words

• farther
• further
• fare
• fore
• per
• para-
• peri-

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin