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Origin and history of distant

distant(adj.)

late 14c., "standing or being apart from a given point or place," from Old French distant (14c.), from Latin distantem (nominative distans), present participle of distare "to stand apart, be remote," from dis- "apart, off" (see dis-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm."

Sense of "separated by an unspecified but large space" is from early 15c.; meaning "remote or far off in time" is from c. 1600. Sense of "not cordial or familiar" is by 1709. Related: Distantly.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to distant

distal(adj.)

in anatomy, "situated away from the center of the body; terminal, peripheral" (opposed to proximal), 1804, formed from distant (or distance) + -al (1) on model of central, dorsal, ventral, etc. Related: Distally.

equidistant(adj.)

"equally distant," 1560s, from French équidistant (14c.), from Late Latin aequidistantem (nominative aequidistans), from aequi- (see equal (adj.)) + distans (see distant). In reference to a type of map projection, from 1866. Related: Equidistance.

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close
(klōz), c. 1200, "to shut, cover in," from Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c., from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere "to shut, close; to block up, make inaccessible; put an end to; shut in, enclose, confine" (always -clusus
remote
mid-15c., "distant in place, apart, removed, not near," from Latin remotus "afar off, remote, distant in place," past participle of removere "move back or away, take away, put out of view, subtract," from re- "back, away" (see re-) + movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to pus
fremd
English and Scottish survival of Middle English fremed "foreign; remote; unfamiliar; not related; unheard-of; unfriendly, distant...
strange
also of a country, "unfamiliar, unknown, remote," from Old French estrange "foreign, alien, unusual, unfamiliar, curious; distant...That of "aloof, reserved, distant; like a stranger" is by mid-14c. As an interjection of wonder by 1660s....
redoubt
As an adjective, Latin reductus meant "withdrawn, retired; remote, distant."...
princess
Princesse lointaine "ideal but unattainable woman" (literally "distant princess") is from the play by Rostand (1895) based...
aloof
1530s, "to windward," from a- (1) "on" + Middle English loof "windward direction," which is probably from Dutch loef (Middle Dutch lof) "the weather side of a ship" (see luff (n.)). Originally in nautical orders to keep the ship's head to the wind, and thus stay clear of a lee-sh
meteor
late 15c., "any atmospheric phenomenon," from Old French meteore (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin meteorum (nominative meteora), from Greek ta meteōra "the celestial phenomena, things in heaven above," plural of meteōron, literally "thing high up," noun use of neuter of me
stare
Old English starian "to gaze steadily with the eyes wide open, look fixedly at, be wide-eyed" (with madness, awe, etc.), from Proto-Germanic *staren "be rigid" (source also of Old Norse stara, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch staren, Old High German staren, German starren "to s

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