far

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English ferre, fer, Old English feor, feorr, from Proto-Germanic *ferrai.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɑː/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɑɹ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)

Adjective

far (comparative farther or further, superlative farthest or furthest or farthermost or furthermost)

1. Distant; remote in space.

   He went to a far land.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joshua 9:6:

     And they went to Ioshua vnto the campe at Gilgal, and said vnto him, and to the men of Israel, Wee be come from a farre countrey: Now therefore make ye a league with vs.

   • 2009, Graham Huggan, Ian Law, Racism Postcolonialism Europe, page 1:

     Tsiolkas's Europe, as voraciously predatory as his own undead protagonist, is a far cry from the fount of idealistic humanism dreamed up by generations of both pre- and post-Enlightenment politicians and philosophers, a Europe defined by its durable capacity for civility in an otherwise barbarous world.

   • Distant definition

     Far off (physically, logically or mentally). (1 of 2 distant definitions)
2. Remote in time.

   the far future

3. Long. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
   • 2011, Peggy Woods, Ramblings from a Soul, page 42:

     I have such a long way to go but yet I have come such a far piece already

4. More remote of two.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     At the far end of the houses the head gardener stood waiting for his mistress, and he gave her strips of bass to tie up her nosegay. This she did slowly and laboriously, with knuckly old fingers that shook.

   See those two mountains? The ogre lives on the far one.

   He moved to the far end of the state. She remained at this end.

5. Extreme, as measured from some central or neutral position.

   They are on the far right on this issue.

   • 2010, William Alexander Patterson, 4th, The City Is served Bartholomew! to the American Prison!, page 118:

     He was withdrawn to such a far degree that it required of Piers and Jude a good deal of occasional conferencing between the two of them, in private.

6. Extreme, as a difference in nature or quality.
   • 1657, Henry Ainsworth, Zachary Coke, The Art of Logick., page 26:

     As sensible maketh a man differ from a stone, in a far difference; for other Species, as Beasts, have the same difference, but reasonable is the nearest, whereby he differeth from a stone, beasts, and all other things.

   • 1979, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations, Military situation in the Far East - Volume 3, page 1737:

     Is there not a far difference between asking it up and urging it, Mr. Secretary ?

   • 2010, Deborah Cartmell, Screen Adaptations: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, page 78:

     The pressbook identifies the film as a 'picturization of Jane Austen's widely read novel' and starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier (based on the theatrical adaptation by Helen Jerome), it is a far remove from adaptations that follow.

   • 2014, Henry Sussman, Playful Intelligence: Digitizing Tradition, page 124:

     This may not be at such a far remove from the endlessly recursive textual inventions of Kafka, Beckett, and Bernhard as it may seem.

   • Extreme definition

     Of a place, the most remote, farthest or outermost. (1 of 6 extreme definitions)
7. (programming, not comparable) Outside the currently selected segment in a segmented memory architecture.

   far heap; far memory; far pointer

   • Programming definition

     The designing, scheduling or planning of a radio or television program/programme. (1 of 6 programming definitions)

   • Segment definition

     A length of some object. (1 of 15 segment definitions)

   • Memory definition

     The ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later at will. (1 of 8 memory definitions)

   • Architecture definition

     The art and science of designing and managing the construction of buildings and other structures, particularly if they are well proportioned and decorated. (1 of 7 architecture definitions)

Synonyms

• (remote in space): distant, far; see also Thesaurus:distant

Antonyms

• (remote in space): close, near; see also Thesaurus:near

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

far (comparative farther or further, superlative farthest or furthest)

1. To, from or over a great distance in space, time or other extent.

   You have all come far and you will go farther.

   He built a time machine and travelled far into the future.

   Over time, his views moved far away from mine.

2. Very much; by a great amount.

   He was far richer than we'd thought.

   The expense far exceeds what I expected.

   I saw a tiny figure far below me.

   • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:

     The Reds were on the back foot early on when a catalogue of defensive errors led to Ramires giving Chelsea the lead. Jay Spearing conceded possession in midfield and Ramires escaped Jose Enrique far too easily before scoring at the near post with a shot Reina should have saved.

Translations

Verb

far (third-person singular simple present fars, present participle farring, simple past and past participle farred)

1. (transitive, rare) To send far away.
   • 1864, Elizabeth Gaskell, Cousin Phillis:

     But I wish he'd been farred before he ever came near this house, with his “Please Betty” this, and “Please Betty” that, and drinking up our new milk as if he'd been a cat. I hate such beguiling ways.

   • 1962, Thomas Berger, Reinhart in Love:

     […] so Joe come to me and he uz sore as a boil and said you goddam prevert, I don't want no twenny-two-year-old mechanic who still pulls his pood in the toilet, and farred me.

Etymology 2

From Latin far. Doublet of farro.

Noun

far (uncountable)

2. Spelt (a type of wheat, Triticum spelta), especially in the context of Roman use of it.
   • 1756, Aurelius Cornelius Celsus, Medicine: In Eight Books, page 108:

     A cataplasm made from any meal is heating, whether it be of wheat, or of far, or barley, or bitter vetch, ...

   • 1857, John Marius Wilson, The Rural Cyclopedia:

     Almost all the rustic writers agree in this, that far is most proper for wet clay land, and triticum for dry land. 'In wet red clays,' says Cato, 'sow far; and in dry, clean, and open lands, sow triticum.'

   • 1872, John Cordy Jeaffreson, Brides and Bridals, volume 1, page 201:

     Our wedding-cake is the memorial of a practice, that bore a striking resemblance to, if it was not derived from, confarreatio, the form of marriage that had fallen into general disuse amongst the Romans in the time of Tiberius. Taking its name from the cake of far and mola salsa that was broken over the bride's head, confarreatio was attended with an incident that increases its resemblance to the way in which our ancestors used at their weddings objects symbolical of natural plentifulness.

   • 1919, Carl Holliday, Wedding Customs Then and Now, page 32:

     The early Romans broke a cake of far and mola salsa (salted meal) over the bride's head, — a symbol of plentifulness, […]

   • Spelt definition

     simple past and past participle of spell

   • Triticum Spelta definition

     A taxonomic species within the family Poaceae – spelt, among the first domesticated wheats, now usually Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta.

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

far (plural fars)

1. (UK, dialect) A litter of piglets; a farrow.

   • Litter definition

     A platform mounted on two shafts, or a more elaborate construction, designed to be carried by two (or more) people to transport one (in luxury models sometimes more) third person(s) or (occasionally in the elaborate version) a cargo, such as a religious idol. (1 of 7 litter definitions)

   • Piglet definition

     A young pig

   • Farrow definition

     A litter of piglets.

Anagrams

• 'arf, AFR, AFr., ARF, Afr., FRA, Fra, RAF, RFA, arf, fra

Albanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Pharus.

Noun

far m

1. lighthouse

   • Lighthouse definition

     A tower or other structure exhibiting a light or lights to warn or guide sailors.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin pharus.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈfar/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈfaɾ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ

Noun

far m (plural fars)

1. lighthouse
2. headlight

   • Headlight definition

     A bright light, with a lens and reflector, on the front of a motor vehicle (or originally a ship or train), designed to illuminate the road when driving at night; normally one of a pair. (1 of 5 headlight definitions)

Related terms

• farola

Further reading

• “far” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “far”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “far” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “far” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Cimbrian

Noun

far ?

1. fern

   • Fern definition

     Any of a group of some twenty thousand species of vascular plants classified in the division Pteridophyta that lack seeds and reproduce by shedding spores to initiate an alternation of generations.

References

• Umberto Patuzzi, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar, Luserna: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Dalmatian

Verb

far

1. Alternative form of facro

   • Facro definition

     to do, to make

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse faðir, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (“father”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɑː/, [fɑ̈ː]
• Rhymes: -aːr

Noun

far c (singular definite faren, plural indefinite fædre)

1. father, dad

   • Father definition

     A (generally human) male who begets a child. (1 of 10 father definitions)

   • Dad definition

     A father, a male parent. (1 of 3 dad definitions)

Inflection

Synonyms

• fader

Related terms

• mor, moder
• bror, søster, søskende
• søn, datter

Further reading

• “far” in Den Danske Ordbog

Esperanto

Etymology

Back-formation from fari (“to do, to make”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [far]
• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: far

Preposition

far

1. (neologism) by^[1]

   La libro de Johano far Ŝekspiro

   John's book by Shakespeare

   regado de la popolo, far la popolo, kaj por la popolo

   government of the people, by the people, and for the people

   Synonyms: de, fare de

   • By definition

     Near or next to. (1 of 21 by definitions)

   • De definition

     ISO 639-1 language code for German. (1 of 2 de definitions)

   • Fare De definition

     by (by the action of, by the effort of, by the initiative of, by order of)

Usage notes

Unofficial. The most common innovative preposition, far is used for some of the functions of the preposition de "of, from, by", which some authors feel is overworked. Useful to distinguish, for example, the owner of a book (de) from the author (far).

References

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse far.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛaːɹ/,Fugloy dialect: IPA^(key): [fɛːɹ]
• Rhymes: -ɛaːɹ
• Homophone: fær

Noun

far n (genitive singular fars, plural før)

1. drive, ride, tour

   • Drive definition

     (1 of 24 drive definitions)

   • Ride definition

     To transport oneself by sitting on and directing a horse, later also a bicycle etc. (1 of 19 ride definitions)

   • Tour definition

     A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc. (1 of 12 tour definitions)
2. vessel

   • Vessel definition

     Any craft designed for transportation on water, such as a ship or boat. (1 of 6 vessel definitions)
3. trace, sign

   • Trace definition

     An act of tracing. (1 of 15 trace definitions)

   • Sign definition

     A fact that shows that something exists or may happen. (1 of 13 sign definitions)

Declension

Derived terms

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faʁ/

Noun

far m (plural fars)

1. a traditional Breton cake

   Synonym: far breton

   • Far Breton definition

     a kind of cake from Brittany, often made with plums

Further reading

• “far”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Hungarian

Etymology

From Proto-Uralic *ponče (“tail”).^[1] Older hypotheses have attempted to derive far from Proto-Uralic *pure- (“back, rear”) or Proto-Finno-Ugric *perä (“back, rear”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɒr]
• Rhymes: -ɒr

Noun

far (plural farok)

1. buttock, posterior

   Synonyms: fenék, ülep, hátsó, segg

   • Buttock definition

     Each of the two large fleshy halves of the posterior part of the body between the base of the back, the perineum and the top of the legs. (1 of 2 buttock definitions)

   • Posterior definition

     Nearer the rear or hind end; nearer the caudal end of the body in quadrupeds or the dorsal end in bipeds. (1 of 4 posterior definitions)

   • Fenék definition

     bottom, buttock (of a living thing) (1 of 2 fenék definitions)

   • Ülep definition

     behind, butt (1 of 2 ülep definitions)

   • Hátsó definition

     back, behind

   • Segg definition

     arse (UK), ass (US) (buttocks)
2. stern (ship)

   • Stern definition

     Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner. (1 of 2 stern definitions)
3. tail, rear (vehicle)

   • Tail definition

     The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to its posterior and near the anus. (1 of 30 tail definitions)

   • Rear definition

     To bring up to maturity, as offspring; to educate; to instruct; to foster. (1 of 10 rear definitions)

Declension

Derived terms

• farol
• farú

References

Further reading

• far in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse fǫr (“journey”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faːr/
• Rhymes: -aːr

Noun

far n (genitive singular fars, nominative plural för)

1. passage, ride

   Má ég fá far?

   Can I get a ride?

   • Passage definition

     A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning. (1 of 15 passage definitions)
2. imprint, trace

   • Imprint definition

     An impression; the mark left behind by printing something. (1 of 3 imprint definitions)
3. character, personality

   • Character definition

     A being involved in the action of a story. (1 of 16 character definitions)

   • Personality definition

     A set of non-physical psychological and social qualities that make one person distinct from another. (1 of 9 personality definitions)

Declension

Synonyms

• flutningur
• merki

Derived terms

• farfugl
• fá far (to get a ride, to get a lift)
• gera sér far um
• hjakka í sama farinu
• í fari hans
• sækja í sama farið

See also

• skutl
• skutla

Anagrams

• raf

Italian

Verb

far (apocopated)

1. Apocopic form of fare

   • Fare definition

     A going; journey; travel; voyage; course; passage. (1 of 6 fare definitions)

Anagrams

• fra

Latin

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- (“spike, prickle”) (compare Welsh bara (“bread”), English barley, Serbo-Croatian brȁšno (“flour”), Albanian bar (“grass”), Ancient Greek Φηρῶν (Phērôn, “plant deity”)).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /far/, [fär]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /far/, [fär]
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfar.r/, [ˈfärː] (before a vowel)

The nominative-accusative singular form scans as a long syllable in Ovid (cited below). Therefore, some sources mark the vowel in this form as long (fār), but an alternative explanation is that despite being spelled with a single letter r, this word form was pronounced with the underlying geminate /rr/ of the stem when the following word started with a vowel.^[1]

Noun

far n (genitive farris); third declension

1. farro, a type of hulled wheat. (Most likely emmer (Triticum dicoccum or Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccon) but often mistranslated as spelt (Triticum spelta)) ^{[2] [3]}
   • 43 BCE – c. 17 CE, Ovid, Fasti 1.338:

     Ante, deos homini quod conciliare valeret, / far erat et puri lucida mica salis.

     Of old, the means to win the goodwill of the gods were far and sparkling grains of pure salt.

     ― Fay Glinister, “Festus and Ritual Foodstuffs” p. 220

   • Farro definition

     Emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum).

   • Emmer definition

     A species of wheat, Triticum dicoccon, one of a group of hulled wheats that are important food grains.

   • Circa definition

     Approximately, about, around
2. coarse meal; grits

   • Meal definition

     Correct quotes (1 of 8 meal definitions)

   • Grits definition

     plural of grit ('hulled oats') (1 of 2 grits definitions)

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• → English: far
• Galician: farelo
• Italian: farro
  • → English: farro
• Portuguese: farelo
• Sicilian: farru

References

Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faːr/
• Rhymes: -aːr

Etymology 1

From Arabic فَأْر (faʔr, “mouse”).

Noun

far m (plural firien or fariet, feminine fara)

1. rat

   Synonym: ġurdien

   • Rat definition

     A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus. (1 of 10 rat definitions)

   • Ġurdien definition

     mouse (1 of 2 ġurdien definitions)
2. Y-shaped frame of a slingshot

   • Y-Shaped definition

     Shaped like the capital letter "Y".

   • Frame definition

     To fit, as for a specific end or purpose; make suitable or comfortable; adapt; adjust. (1 of 18 frame definitions)

   • Slingshot definition

     A Y-shaped stick with an elastic sling between the arms used for shooting small projectiles. (1 of 4 slingshot definitions)

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Arabic فارَ (fāra).

Verb

far (imperfect jfur, verbal noun fawran)

1. to overflow

   • Overflow definition

     The spillage resultant from overflow; excess. (1 of 3 overflow definitions)

Middle English

Noun

far

1. Alternative form of fare

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse faðir, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (“father”). Compare longer version fader.

Noun

far m (definite singular faren, indefinite plural fedre, definite plural fedrene)

1. a father

Synonyms

• pappa
• fader

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Kven: faari

See also

• mor, mamma
• bror, søster, søsken
• sønn, datter

Etymology 2

Verb

far

1. imperative of fare

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɑːr/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse faðir, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (“father”). Compare longer version fader.

Noun

far m (definite singular faren, indefinite plural fedrar, definite plural fedrane)

1. father

Inflection

Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard. Forms in [brackets] were official, but considered second-tier. Forms in (parentheses) were allowed under Midlandsnormalen.