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Origin and history of far-away

far-away(adj.)

also faraway, "distant, remote," 1816, from far + away.

also from 1816

Entries linking to far-away

away(adv.)

Middle English awei, from late Old English aweg, earlier on weg "on from this (that) place;" see a- (1) + way (n.).

The meaning "from one's own or accustomed place" is from c. 1300; that of "from one state or condition to another" is from mid-14c.; that of "from one's possession (give away, throw away) is from c. 1400. Colloquial use for "without delay" (fire away, also right away) is from the earlier sense of "onward in time" (16c.). The meaning "at such a distance" (a mile away) is by 1712. Intensive use (as in away back) is American English, attested by 1818. Of sporting events played at the other team's field or court, by 1893.

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.

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    purloin
    apprentice) from a master," from Anglo-French purloigner "remove," Old French porloigner "put off, retard, delay, drag out; be far...away," from por- (a variant of Latin pro- "forth;" see pro-) + Old French loing "far," from Latin longe, from longus "long...
    Peter Pan
    Standing on the ledge he could see trees far away, which were doubtless the Kensington Gardens, and the moment he saw them...he entirely forgot that he was now a little boy in a nightgown, and away he flew, right over the houses to the Gardens....
    telescope
    1640s, from Italian telescopio (Galileo, 1611), and Modern Latin telescopium (Kepler, 1613), both from Greek teleskopos "far-seeing...," from tele- "far" (from PIE root *kwel- (2) "far" in space or time) + -skopos "watcher" (from PIE root *spek- "to observe...
    top
    But if the under dog in the social fight runs away with a bone in violation of superior force, the top dog runs after him...steal," and all the other top dogs unite in bellowing, "This is divine law and not dog law;" the verdict of the top dog so far...
    cry
    The notion in far cry "a great distance, a long way" seems to be "calling distance;" compare out of cry "out of calling distance...Far cry itself seems to have been a Scottish phrase popularized by Scott ("Rob Roy," 1817), which notes that "The expression...of a 'far cry to Lochow,' was proverbial."...
    until
    The first element is un- "as far as, up to" (also in unto), from Old Norse *und "as far as, up to," from Proto-Germanic *...und- (source also of Old English oð "up to, as far as," Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Gothic und), from PIE *nti-, from root *ant...
    madding
    adjective from obsolete verb mad "to make insane; to become insane" (replaced by madden); now principally in the phrase far...the madding crowd, title of the popular 1874 novel of love and betrayal in rural England by Hardy, who lifted it from "Far...
    betray
    early 13c., bitraien, "prove false, violate by unfaithfulness;" c. 1300, "deliver or expose to the power of an enemy by treachery," also "mislead, deceive, delude," from be- + obsolete Middle English tray, from Old French traine "betrayal, deception, deceit," from trair (Modern F
    asphalt
    early 14c., "hard, resinous mineral pitch found originally in Biblical lands," from Late Latin asphaltum, from Greek asphaltos "asphalt, bitumen," often said to be from Greek a- "not" + *sphaltos "able to be thrown down," taken as verbal adjective of sphallein "to throw down," ac
    proportion
    late 14c., proporcioun, "due relation of one part to another," also "size, extent; comparative relation of one thing to another in size, degree, number, etc.," from Old French proporcion "measure, proportion" (13c.) and directly from Latin proportionem (nominative proportio) "com

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