Etymograph

English

farness

Farness comes from Old English feornes ‘farness, distance’, from feorr ‘far’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to cross, pass’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to cross, pass’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-nóy1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ferrai2‘far’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ferr2reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150feorr3as feor‘far’
  6. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150feornes4‘farness, distance’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fernesse4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1918farness4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ferrai
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English feorr
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English feornes
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English farness
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William James, The Principles of Psychology: “If I look from a mountain, the things seen…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ferrai‘to cross, pass’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-nóyWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ferraireconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ferraiWiktionary, Old English feorr‘far’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ferrWiktionary, Old English feorrreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150feorrWiktionary, Old English feornesas feor‘far’
  6. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150feornesWiktionary, English farness‘farness, distance’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fernesseWiktionary, English farness
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1918farnessWiktionary, English farness. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William James, The Principles of Psychology: “If I look from a mountain, the things seen…”

Formed from far + -ness

Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to cross, pass’

Proto-Indo-European *per-nóy

Proto-Germanic *ferrai

Old English feor

Middle English ferre

English far

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to cross, pass’

first, before, support, per, report, further, price, private, practice, opportunity, pre, prior, prime, appreciate, port, fear, primary, press, prize, afford, pregnant, ford, practical, forth, precious, praise, interpretation, privilege, ferry, pirate, parade, par, porch, primitive, prix, pardon, interpreter, pragmatic, privy, prism, 156 more

through Proto-Germanic *ferrai ‘far’

far

through Old English feorr ‘far’

afar

Today it means

noun The state of being far off, or the degree to which something is far; distance, span; remoteness

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “farness”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *ferrai, Old English feorr, Old English feornes. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *per- / farness

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