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Origin and history of far

far(adj.)

Middle English fer, from Old English feorr "far, remote, distant," from Proto-Germanic *ferera- (cognates: Old Saxon fer, Old Frisian fer, Old Norse fjarre, Dutch ver, Old High German ferro, German fern), probably a development in western Proto-Germanic from the adverb (see far (adv.)). Far East "China, Japan, and surrounding regions" is from 1838.

far(adv.)

Middle English fer, from Old English feor "to a great distance, long ago," from Proto-Germanic *ferro, from PIE root *per- (1), base of words for "through, forward," with extended senses such as "across, beyond" (source also of Sanskrit parah "farther, remote, ulterior," Hittite para "outside of," Greek pera "across, beyond," Latin per "through," Old Irish ire "farther"). Germanic cognates include Old Saxon fer, Old Frisian fir, Old Norse fiarre, Old High German fer, Gothic fairra.

For vowel change, see dark (adj.). Paired with wide to mean "everywhere" since 9c.

Entries linking to far

dark(adj.)

Middle English derk, later dark, from Old English deorc "without light, lacking light or brightness (especially at night), obscure, gloomy;" figuratively "sad, cheerless; sinister, wicked," from Proto-Germanic *derkaz (source also of Old High German tarchanjan "to hide, conceal"), which is of uncertain etymology. For vowel change, see marsh.

Application to colors, "not radiating or reflecting much light," is from late 14c. Of complexion, "not fair," from early 14c. Figurative sense of "obscure, not easily understood" is from early 13c.; that of "sullen, sad" is from 1590s. Meaning "concealed, secret" is from late 14c. Dark Continent "Africa" (1828) combines several figurative senses (earliest references are in missionary publications). Theater slang for "closed" is from 1916.

Dark Ages "benighted time in history, period of ignorance" is attested by 1739; the specific focus on the centuries of the early Middle Ages in Europe, from the fall of Rome to the revival of secular literature, is from 1830s, from dark in a sense of "characterized by ignorance, backward in learning, void of intellectual light" (late 14c.).

Dark horse "competitor for honors or office about whom nothing certain is known, or whose identity is at first concealed," especially, in U.S., politics, "one who is unexpectedly brought forward as a candidate in a convention," 1842, is an image from horse racing, of horses whose performances or capabilities are not generally known, in which dark is used in its figurative sense of "unknown."

Moonraker is called a "dark horse"; that is neither his sire nor dam is known. ["Pierce Egan's Book of Sports," London, 1832]

wide(adj.)

"having relatively great extension from side to side; having a certain or specified extension from side to side;" Old English wid, also "vast, long," also used of time; from Proto-Germanic *widaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian wid, Old Norse viðr, Dutch wijd, Old High German wit, German weit), which is perhaps (Watkins) from PIE *wi-ito-, from root *wi- "apart, away, in half."

The meaning "distended, expanded, spread apart" is attested by c. 1500; the sense of "embracing many subjects" is from 1530s. The meaning "missing the intended target" is from 1580s. Of a dialect, "characterized by a broad accent," by mid-15c.

As a second element in compounds (such as nationwide, worldwide) and meaning "extending through the whole of," it is from late Old English. Wide-screen in reference to cinema projection is by 1931.