I. ˈfärthər, ˈfȧthə(r adverb
Etymology: Middle English ferther, alteration (influenced by ferre — compar. of fer, adverb, far — , from Old English fierr, fyrr, compar. of feorr, adverb, far) of further — more at further (adverb), far
1.
a. : to a greater distance in space : to a more remote place
drive farther north
swallows … are gathering to fly farther away — Padraic Colum
b. : at a greater distance in space : at a more remote place
farther down the corridor — Willa Cather
c. : at a greater distance in time
it may go back still farther to racial Druid memories — Marjorie K. Rawlings
d. : more divergent
nothing had been farther from his thoughts — C.S.Forester
2. : to or at a more advanced point : beyond a given limit
if he could go a little farther … he might become a very fine poet — C.P.Aiken
3. : further I 3
4. : to a greater degree or extent
we do not extend the one-man idea any farther than we have to — G.F.Eliot
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English ferther, from ferther, adverb
1.
a. : more distant in space : remoter
the farther side of town
flood the farther parts of your fields — Oliver La Farge
b. : more divergent in character or relationship
the farther the machines get from immediate and practical application — Robert Bendiner
c. : more remote in time
a memory of a farther childhood — Yale Review
2. : further II 2
3. : the more distant of two
the farther side — C.E.Craddock
her glance fixed itself … upon the farther room — Virginia Woolf
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English fertheren, from ferther, adverb & adjective
: further