BY FAR • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of By far

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/baɪ fɑr/ Listen

adjective

Far adj. (farther and farthest are used as the compar. and superl. of far, although they are corruptions arising from confusion with further and furthest)

1.

Distant in any direction; not near; remote; mutually separated by a wide space or extent. "They said,... We be come from a far country." "The nations far and near contend in choice."

2.

Remote from purpose; contrary to design or wishes; as, far be it from me to justify cruelty.

3.

Remote in affection or obedience; at a distance, morally or spiritually; t enmity with; alienated. "They that are far from thee ahsll perish."

4.

Widely different in nature or quality; opposite in character. "He was far from ill looking, though he thought himself still farther."

5.

The more distant of two; as, the far side (called also off side) of a horse, that is, the right side, or the one opposite to the rider when he mounts. Note: The distinction between the adjectival and adverbial use of far is sometimes not easily discriminated.

By far, by much; by a great difference.

Far between, with a long distance (of space or time) between; at long intervals. "The examinations are few and far between."

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Etymology of 'By far'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"By far" Quotes from Famous Books

... frontlet's older legend ran, On the brief record's opening page displayed; Not yet those clear-eyed scholars were afraid Lest the fair fruit that wrought the woe of man By far Euphrates—where our sire began His search for truth, and, seeking, was betrayed— Might work new treason in their forest shade, Doubling the curse that brought life's shortened span. Nurse of the future, daughter of the past, That stern phylactery best becomes ...

— The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Complete • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

... the private elevator to the next floor. The old negro messenger was waiting at the door of the reception room and he bowed to the floor—a portion of the bow was for Harleston, but by far the larger ...

— The Cab of the Sleeping Horse • John Reed Scott

... effect, and then the representatives of each city were called up in turn to give their vote; and by far the greater number voted for war. But many months elapsed before any overt act of hostility occurred, and the time was occupied in preparations for an invasion of Attica, and in a series of demands sent ...

— Stories From Thucydides • H. L. Havell

... some of the survivals of very early stages of religious custom which still kept their place in the developed religion of Rome, but by far the most important element in it, which might indeed be described as its 'immediate antecedent,' is the state of religious feeling to which anthropologists have given the name of 'Animism.' As far as we can follow the development of early religions, this attitude of mind seems to be the ...

— The Religion of Ancient Rome • Cyril Bailey

... country at any rate) has managed to persuade the general public of its own divine uniqueness to such a degree that few people, even nowadays, realize that it has sprung from just the same root as Paganism, and that it shares by far the most part of its doctrines and rites with the latter. Till quite lately it was thought (in Britain) that only secularists and unfashionable people took any interest in sungods; and while it was true that learned professors might point to a belief in Magic as one of the first sources ...

— Pagan & Christian Creeds - Their Origin and Meaning • Edward Carpenter

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