# farther vs. further **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558 "2001-03-19T06:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/1 "2001-03-19T06:15:56Z")
Ok, so I’ve done a preliminary board search on this (which is undoubtedly going to come back and bite me, because any time someone makes a statement like that, three posts down someone comes up with 5 previous threads), so here goes: What is the difference between further and farther? [www.dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com) and [www.m-w.com](http://www.m-w.com) list them both as inflected forms of “far,” each having the same meaning. So why do we have two versions? Is this some long-standing difference which no one really has an answer for like [Gray vs. Grey](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=8988)? or is there a real differentiation in usage? And if not, why even have two versions of the same word? I mean, come on… they don’t even count as _real_ synonyms! ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/2 "2001-03-19T07:35:32Z")
My dictionary says that traditional grammarians like to argue that farther should be used only when it comes to physical distance, while further is used to refer to degree, quantity or time. My dictionary also says that this distinction has generally been ignored since the time of Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/3 "2001-03-19T07:50:58Z")
It appears that originally, _further_ was not the comparative of _far_ but of the adjective _fore_ or the adverb _forth_. The comparative of _far_ was _farrer_. Somewhere along the way the comparative _farrer_, the adverb _forth_ and the adjective _fore_ became more rare and _further_ was linked with _far_. _Farther_ is simply a variation of _further_, probably influenced by the association with _far_. The distinciton that **Snooooopy** mentions is the one I was taught in school, but the rule is arbitrary and of relatively recent origin. I think it’s acceptable to use _further_ in either sense. However, using _farther_ when distance isn’t involved sounds funny to me. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/4 "2001-03-19T07:55:14Z")
An easy rule to remember is farther is when something is actually measurable and further is when it is not. I live farther from town than you do. She went further into that topic than I had expected. It’s like fewer and less and also number and amount. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/5 "2001-03-19T15:05:58Z")
How can this post continue without a quote from the Bible of Writing… Strunk & White’s THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE. "Farther, Further. The two words are commonly interchanged, butthere is a distiction worth observing: _farther_ serves best as a distance word, _further_ as a time or quantity word. You chase a ball _farther_ than the other fellow; you pursue a subject _further_. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/6 "2001-03-19T15:46:07Z")
[Groucho hijack] “Anything further father?” That can’t be right. Shouldn’t it be “Anything father, further?” [/groucho hijack] An actual [discussion](http://www2.bitstream.net/~bakken/answers.html) of the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/7 "2001-03-19T17:46:47Z")
The AP Style book is even more emphatic “Farther refers to physical distance (He walked farther into the woods.) Further refers to an extension of time or degree (She will look further into the mystery.)” ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/8 "2001-03-19T18:17:51Z")
The usage note in Ame. Her. Dic. says that the restriction of farther to distances is “a rule of relatively recent origin.” ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farther-vs-further/58558/9 "2001-03-19T18:49:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*[Groucho hijack] > > “Anything further father?” That can’t be right. Shouldn’t it be “Anything father, further?” > > [/groucho hijack]\*\* Ah, rats. I just hate it when I go to a thread and find someone else has said the _exact_ thing I was going to say! Hey, **Ethilrist** - Swordfish!