c.1300, var. of further
(q.v.), by 17c. replaced ferrer
as comp. of the descendant of O.E. fierr
"far" (itself a comp. but no longer felt as one). Vowel change infl. by the root vowel, and confusion with M.E. ferþeren
"to assist, promote, advance" (see forth
). There is no historical basis for the notion that farther
is of physical distance and further
of degree or quality.