I am having difficulty finding an authoritative source that can provide the distinction between these two words.
Is there a difference?
There are times when intuitively, one seems a better choice.
"The farther I reach the further away the item drifts".
But, I cannot provide a real REASON behind this instinct.
Anyone have more details?
Also, the former word is holy, since many Christians begin their prayer:
Our farther, which art in heaven. . . ..
You NEVER hear of that for further.
I dunno. Billy Graham used to pray to "ow fatha."
And all these years I thought it was "Hollow Ed"!
Yer both wrong. It's Harold.
As in "Hark, the harold angels sing..."?
So, is it safe to assume that this same 'history' applies to FARTHEST and FURTHEST ?
Let's just leave thothe two out of thith dithcuthion.
Far out! and fur out!? ;~) maybe they should be in the out of fashion word thread.
Frank: It isn't right for a college to buy football players.
Wagstaff: It isn't, eh? Well, I'll nip that in the bud. How about coming along and having a nip yourself?
Frank: Anything further, Father?
Wagstaff: Anything further, Father? That can't be right. Isn't it 'Anything Father, further?' The idea! I married your mother because I wanted children. Imagine my disappointment when you arrived.
I've checked with some profs at English departments at Duke and the Univ. of N.C> and they tell me there is no difference in their uses any more. It used to be that "further" meant distance and "farther" implied a more abstract meaning of depth or degree (as in "The professor went farther into existentialism than I thought he would").
Agki