Etymology : Middle English fer, from Old English feorr; akin to Old High German ferro far, Old English faran to go; more at FARE
Pronunciation : fär
Function : adverb
Date : before 12th century
1. advance, encourage, promote, assist. farther, more distant; additional. adto a greater distance; more; in addition. further\fur"ther\ , adv. [a comparative of forth; oe. further, forther, as. fur or, far ur; akin to g. fürder. see:
forth, adv.] to a greater distance; in addition; moreover. see:
farther. carries us, i know not how much further, into familiar company. arnold. they sdvanced us far as eleusis and thria; but no further.further off, not so near; apart by a greater distance.further \fur"ther\, a. compar. [positive wanting; superl. furthest.].
2. more remote; at a greater distance; more in advance; farther; as, the further end of the field. see:
farther.
3. beyond; additional; as, a further reason for this opinion; nothing further to suggest.note: the forms further and farther are in general not differentiated by writers, but further is preferred by many when application to quantity or degree is implied.further \fur"ther"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. furthered ; p. pr. & vb. n. furthering.] [oe. furthren, forthren, as. fyr?ran, fyr?rian. see:
further, adv.] to help forward; to promote; to advance; to forward; to help or assist. this binds thee, then, to further my design. i should nothing further the weal public. --robynsom (more's utopia).further adj.
4. existing or coming by way of addition; "an additional problem"; "further information"; "there will be further delays"; "took more time" [syn: additional, further(a) , more(a) ].
5. more distant in especially degree; "nothing could be further from the truth"; "further from our expectations"; "farther from the truth"; "farther from our expectations" [syn: farther] adv 1: to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (`further' is used more often than `farther' in this abstract sense); "further complicated by uncertainty about the future"; "let's not discuss it further"; "nothing could be further from the truth"; "they are further along in their research than we expected"; "the application of the law was extended farther"; "he is going no farther in his studies" [syn: farther] 2: in addition or furthermore; "if we further suppose"; "stated further that he would not cooperate with them"; "they are definitely coming; further, they should be here already".
6. to or at a greater distance in time or space (`farther' is used more frequently than `further' in this physical sense); "farther north"; "moved farther away"; "farther down the corridor"; "the practice may go back still farther to the druids"; "went only three miles further"; "further in the future" [syn: farther] v 1: promote the growth of; "foster our children's well-being and education" [syn: foster] 2: contribute to the progress or growth of; "i am promoting the use of computers in the classroom" [syn: promote, advance, boost, encourage].
7. To a greater distance; in addition; moreover.
8. See Farther.
9. More remote; at a greater distance; more in advance; farther; as, the further end of the field.
10. Beyond; additional; as, a further reason for this opinion; nothing further to suggest.
11. To help forward; to promote; to advance; to forward; to help or assist. more distant in especially degree; "nothing could be further from the truth"; "further from our expectations"; "farther from the truth"; "farther from our expectations" to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage ; "further complicated by uncertainty about the future"; "let's not discuss it further"; "nothing could be further from the truth"; "they are further along in their research than we expected"; "the application of the law was extended farther"; "he is going no farther in his studies" in addition or furthermore; "if we further suppose"; "stated further that he would not cooperate with them"; "they are definitely coming; further, they should be here already".
12. fur·ther furthers furthering furthered Further is a comparative form of far. It is also a verb.
13. Further means to a greater extent or degree. Inflation is below 5% and set to fall further The rebellion is expected to further damage the country's image The government's economic policies have further depressed living standards.
14. If you go or get further with something, or take something further, you make some progress. They lacked the scientific personnel to develop the technical apparatus much further.
15. If someone goes further in a discussion, they make a more extreme statement or deal with a point more thoroughly. On February 7th the Post went further, claiming that Mr Wood had grabbed and kissed another 13 women To have a better comparison, we need to go further and address such issues as repairs and insurance.
16. A further thing, number of things, or amount of something is an additional thing, number of things, or amount. His speech provides further evidence of his increasingly authoritarian approach There was nothing further to be done for this man. = more.
17. Further means a greater distance than before or than something else. Now we live further away from the city centre He came to a halt at a crossroads fifty yards further on Further to the south are some of the island's loveliest unspoilt coves.
18. Further is used in expressions such as `further back' and `further ahead' to refer to a point in time that is earlier or later than the time you are talking about. Looking still further ahead, by the end of the next century world population is expected to be about ten billion.
19. If you further something, you help it to progress, to be successful, or to be achieved. Education needn't only be about furthering your career.
20. You use further to introduce a statement that relates to the same general topic and that gives additional information or makes an additional point. Dodd made no appeal of his death sentence and, further, instructed his attorney to sue anyone who succeeds in delaying his execution. = moreover.
21. Further to is used in letters in expressions such as `further to your letter' or `further to our conversation', in order to indicate what you are referring to in the letter. Further to your letter, I agree that there are some presentational problems, politically speaking.