Etymologically
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far

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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
  • 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