distance

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See also: distancé

English

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WOTD – 26 June 2024

Etymology

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From Middle English distance, distaunce, destance (“disagreement, dispute; discrimination; armed conflict; hostility; trouble; space between two points; time interval”),[1] from Anglo-Norman distance, distaunce, destance, Middle French distance, and Old French destance, destaunce, distaunce (“debate; difference, distinction; discord, quarrel; dispute; space between two points; time interval”) (modern French distance), and directly from their etymon Latin distantia (“difference, diversity; distance, remoteness; space between two points”) (whence also Late Latin distantia (“disagreement; discrepancy; gap, opening; time interval”)), from distāns (“being distant; standing apart”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns).[2] Distāns is the present active participle of distō (“to be distant; to stand apart; to differ”), from dis- (prefix meaning ‘apart, asunder; in two’) + stō (“to stand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”)).

The verb is derived from the noun.[3]

cognates

Pronunciation

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Noun

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distance (countable and uncountable, plural distances)

  1. (countable)
    2. An amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […] down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
      1. (horse racing) Chiefly in by a distance: a space of more than 30 lengths (about 80 yards or 7.3 metres) between two racehorses finishing a race, used to describe the margin of victory; also (archaic), any space of 240 yards (about 219.5 metres) on a racecourse.
    3. Chiefly in from a distance: a place which is far away or remote.
    4. Chiefly with a modifying word: a measure between two points or quantities; a difference, a variance.
      angular distance    focal distance
      The distance between the lowest and next gear on my bicycle is annoying.
    5. An interval or length of time between events.
      • 1718, Matthew Prior, Preface to a Collection of Poems:
        ten years' distance between my writing the one and the other
      • 1795, John Playfair, Elements of Geometry:
        the writings of Euclid at the distance of two thousand years
    6. (figurative) A separation in some way other than space or time.
      The friendship did not survive the row: they kept each other at a distance.
    7. (obsolete)
      1. Synonym of length (“an extent measured along the longest dimension of an object”)
      2. (figurative) A disagreement, a dispute; also, an estrangement.
        Synonym: quarrel
      3. (music) A difference in pitch between sounds; an interval.
  2. (uncountable)
    1. The amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.
      The distance to Petersborough is thirty miles.
      From Moscow, the distance is relatively short to Saint Petersburg, relatively long to Novosibirsk, but even greater to Vladivostok.
      1. (boxing)
        1. The maximum amount of space between a boxer and their opponent within which the boxer can punch effectively.
        2. Often in go the distance, last the distance, or stay the distance: the scheduled duration of a bout.
      2. (fencing) The amount of space between a fencer and their opponent, which the fencer tries to control in order to gain an advantage over the opponent.
      3. (horse racing) Originally, the space measured back from the winning post which a racehorse running in a heat must reach when the winner has covered the whole course, in order to run in a subsequent heat; also, the point on the racecourse that space away from the winning post; now, the point on a racecourse 240 yards from the winning post.
      4. (military) The amount of space between soldiers or cavalry riders marching or standing in a rank; also, the amount of space between such ranks.
      5. (sports) The complete length of a course over which a race is run.
    2. Chiefly preceded by the, especially in into or in the distance: the place that is far away or remote; specifically (especially painting), the more remote parts of a landscape or view as contrasted with the foreground.
    3. The state of being separated from something else, especially by a long way; the state of being far off or remote; farness, remoteness.
    4. (figurative)
      1. The entire amount of progress to an objective.
        He had promised to perform this task, but did not go the distance.
      2. The state of remoteness or separation in some way other than space or time.
        the distance between a descendant and their ancestor
        We’re narrowing the distance between the two versions of the bill.
      3. The state of people not being close, friendly, or intimate with each other; also, the state of people who were once close, friendly, or intimate with each other no longer being so; estrangement.
        (state of not being close): Synonym: alienation
        • 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
          On the part of Heaven, / Now alienated, distance and distaste.
        • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
          In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass. […] Strangers might enter the room, but they were made to feel that they were there on sufferance: they were received with distance and suspicion.
      4. Excessive reserve or lack of friendliness shown by a person; aloofness, coldness.
        Synonyms: standoffishness, unfriendliness, unsociableness
    5. (obsolete, figurative)
      1. The rank to which an important person belongs.
      2. The state of disagreement or dispute between people; dissension.
        • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Seditions and Troubles”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
          Setting them [factions] at distance, or at least distrust amongst themselves.
      3. Often followed by to or towards: an attitude of remoteness or reserve which respect requires; hence, ceremoniousness.

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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space measured back from the winning post which a racehorse running in a heat must reach when the winner has covered the whole course, in order to run in a subsequent heat; point on the racecourse that space away from the winning post; point on racecourse 240 yards from the winning post
state of people not being close, friendly, or intimate with each other — see alienation
state of people who were once close, friendly, or intimate with each other no longer being so — see estrangement
excessive reserve or lack of friendliness shown by a person — see aloofness,‎ coldness

Verb

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distance (third-person singular simple present distances, present participle distancing, simple past and past participle distanced)

  1. (transitive)
    1. Often followed by from: to set (someone or something) at a distance (noun sense 1.1) from someone or something else.
      • 1659, Thomas Fuller, “The Second Book. Of the Conversion of the Saxons, and that which Followed thereupon till the Norman Conquest.”, in The Appeal of Iniured Innocence: Unto the Religious Learned and Ingenious Reader: In a Controversie betwixt the Animadvertor Dr. Peter Heylyn and the Author Thomas Fuller, London: […] W. Godbid, and are to be sold by John Williams […], →OCLC, part II, page 6:
        If therefore the Interpoſition of Glouceſterſhire diſtanceth VVorceſterſhire from confining on the VVeſt-Saxons, the Animadvertor ought to have vented his diſpleaſure not on Me, but on Bede, and [Henry of] Huntington, vvhoſe vvords I exactly tranſlated.
      • a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, “Lancashire”, in The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam] L[eybourne] and W[illiam] G[odbid], published 1662, →OCLC, page 106:
        The faireſt [oxen] in England are bred (or if you vvill, made) in this County, vvith goodly heads, the Tips of vvhoſe horns are ſometimes diſtanced five foot aſunder.
      • 1860, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Essay I. Fate.”, in The Conduct of Life, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 22:
        It [an insight] distances those who share it, from those who share it not.
    2. To cause (a place, a thing, etc.) to seem distant, or (figurative) unfamiliar.
      • 1695, [Roger de Piles], “Observations on the Art of Painting of Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy”, in C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC, page 170:
        That vvhich gives the Relievo to a Bovvl, (may ſome ſay to me) is the quick Light, or the vvhite, vvhich appears to be on the ſide, vvhich is neareſt to us, and the black by conſequence diſtances the Object: […]
      • 1854 April, James Russell Lowell, “Leaves from My Journal in Italy and Elsewhere. Italy.”, in Fireside Travels, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1864, →OCLC, page 191:
        Below you, where the valley widens greenly toward other mountains, which the ripe Italian air distances with a bloom like that on unplucked grapes, are more arches, ossified arteries of what was once the heart of the world.
    3. To leave behind (someone or something moving in the same direction; specifically, other competitors in a race) some distance away; to outpace, to outstrip.
      Synonyms: outdistance, (chiefly of a horse or its rider) outgallop, outrun
      • 1851, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Golden Legend, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, page 238:
        Our fleeter steeds have distanced our attendants; / They lag behind us with a slower pace; / We will await them under the green pendants / Of the great willows in this shady place.
      • 1891, Charles Egbert Craddock [pseudonym; Mary Noailles Murfree], chapter V, in In the “Stranger People’s” Country […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 120:
        He heard only here and there the ecstatic burst of a mocking-bird's wonderful roulades. Then the horse, with muscles as strong as steel, distanced the sound.
    4. (figurative)
      1. To keep (someone) emotionally or socially apart from another person or people.
      2. To exceed or surpass (someone, such as a peer or rival); to outdo, to outstrip.
      3. (reflexive) To keep (oneself) away from someone or something, especially because one does not want to be associated with that person or thing.
        He distanced himself from the comments made by some of his colleagues.
        • 1662, Daniel Burston, ΈΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΣΤΗΣ ἐτι ΈΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΖΟΜΕΝΟΣ [ÉUAGGELISTES eti ÉUAGGELIZOMENOS] or, The Evangelist yet Evangelizing. […], Dublin: […] John Crook, […], and are to be sold by Samuel Dancer, […], →OCLC, page 41:
          [S]ince the Church hath, and ought to have a Government, it muſt not only be inoffenſive, but moſt proper, to call it an Hierarchy, or holy Government; […] Besides, [John] Calvin admitting of ſacrum regimen [holy government], over nicely diſtanceth himſelf from thoſe vvho call it Hierarchy, for he ſaith the ſame in Latin, vvhich they do in Greek; […]
        • 2017, Abby Green, “Prologue”, in A Christmas Bride for the King, London: Mills & Boon, →ISBN, page 7:
          [H]e'd built his life around an independence he'd cultivated as far back as he could remember. Distancing himself from his own family and the heavy legacy of his birth. Distancing himself from painful memories. Distancing himself from emotional entanglements or investment, which could only lead to unbearable heartbreak.
        • 2023 November 1, Philip Haigh, “TPE Must Choose the Right Route to a Brighter Future”, in Rail, number 995, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 57:
          But Gisby distances himself from calling TPE an inter-city operator.
    5. (chiefly US, horse racing, archaic) Of a racehorse: to beat (another horse) by a certain distance; also (passive voice), to cause (a horse) to be disqualified by beating it by a certain distance.
      • 1713 March 29 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “Wednesday, March 18. 1713.”, in The Guardian, number 6, London: […] J[acob] Tonson […]; and sold by A. Baldwin […], →OCLC, page [2], column 1:
        [H]e is of Opinion it is inhuman, that Animals ſhould be put upon their utmoſt Strength and Metal for our Diverſion only. Hovvever, not to be particular, he puts in for the Queen's Plate every Year, vvith Orders to his Rider never to vvin or be diſtanced; […]
    6. (obsolete)
      1. To cover the entire distance to (something).
        • 1642, H[enry] M[ore], “ΨΥΧΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΑ [Psychathanasia] Platonica: Or A Platonicall Poem of the Immortality of Souls, Especially Mans Soul”, in ΨΥΧΩΔΙΑ [Psychōdia] Platonica: Or A Platonicall Song of the Soul, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel, printer to the Universitie, →OCLC, book 3, canto 1, stanza 21, page 61:
          The ſunne and all the ſtarres that do appear / She [Psyche] feels them in herſelf, can diſtance all, / For ſhe is at each one purely preſentiall.
      2. To depart from (a place); to leave (a place) behind.
        • 1873, [Elizabeth Charles], chapter VII, in Against the Stream: The Story of an Heroic Age in England […], volume I, London: Strahan & Co. […], →OCLC, page 139:
          [W]e heard the joyous voices sound louder and freer as they distanced the solemn precincts, scattering frolic and music through the town as they separated to their different homes.
      3. To indicate or measure the distance to (a place).
        • 1650, Thomas Fuller, “[The Generall Description of Judea] How the Hebrews Measured Places. Of Their Cubits, Furlongs, Miles and Sabbath-days-journeys.”, in A Pisgah-sight of Palestine and the Confines thereof, with the History of the Old and New Testament Acted thereon, London: […] J. F. for John Williams […], →OCLC, book I, paragraph 1, page 40:
          The Hebrevvs diſtanced their places by ſeveral meaſures, ſome arbitrary, caſuall, and uncertain; others certain, as reduced to a conſtant ſtandard. Of the former vvas their meaſuring of land by paces, for vve read, vvhen David ſolemnly brought the Ark into Jeruſalem, vvhen he had gone ſix paces he offered oxen and fatlings.
      4. To set (two or more things) at regular distances from each other; to space, to space out.
        • 1715, Giacomo Leoni, “Of the Corinthian Order”, in Nicholas Du Bois, transl., The Architecture of A[ndrea] Palladio; […], London: […] John Watts, for the author, →OCLC, page 30:
          In the deſign of a Colonnade, or ſingle Columns, the Inter-columns are tvvo diameters, as in the Portico of St. Maria Rotunda at Rome; and this manner of diſtancing the Columns is, by Vitruvius, call'd Syſtylos.
  2. (intransitive, reflexive) Often followed by from.
    1. To set oneself at a distance from someone or something else; to move away from someone or something.
    2. (figurative) To keep oneself emotionally or socially apart from another person or people; to keep one's distance.
      • 1992, David S. Freeman, “The Major Systems Involved in the Family Therapy Process”, in Multigenerational Family Therapy, Binghamton, N.Y.; London: The Haworth Press, →ISBN, page 66:
        When a family member goes outside of the family to deal with a problem, he or she distances from the family. The family therapist offers the family the opportunity to deal with problems in a way that will allow them to deepen their connections with each other. The therapist will not be able to accomplish this goal if various family members go outside the family to resolve their problems.
      • 2021, Goran Arbanas, “Anxiety and Somatoform Disorders”, in Michal Lew-Starowicz, Annamaria Giraldi, Tillman H. C. Krüger, editors, Psychiatry and Sexual Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide for Clinical Practitioners, Cham, Zug, Switzerland: Springer Nature, →DOI, →ISBN, page 272:
        Also, due to irritability, tension, startle reactions, and feelings of no future love and enjoyment, the partners distance one from another and stop doing things together. […] The therapeutic relationship with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] patients is very difficult at the beginning of the therapy as these patients will not allow the therapist "to come close to them"—for the same reason as they distance from their family members and partners (the therapist cannot understand them as she/he has not experienced the same thing they did and they are not good enough to be helped; they believe they destroy every person they come into contact with).

Conjugation

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Conjugation of distance
infinitive (to) distance
present tense past tense
1st-person singular distance distanced
2nd-person singular distance, distancest† distanced, distancedst†
3rd-person singular distances, distanceth† distanced
plural distance
subjunctive distance distanced
imperative distance —
participles distancing distanced

†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

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Translations

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to leave behind (someone or something moving in the same direction) some distance away — see outpace,‎ outstrip
to exceed or surpass (someone) — see exceed,‎ outdo,‎ outstrip,‎ surpass

References

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  1. ^ “distaunce, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “distance, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2024; “distance, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “distance, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “distance, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Danish

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Etymology

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From French distance.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /distanɡsə/, [d̥iˈsd̥ɑŋsə]

Noun

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distance c (singular definite distancen, plural indefinite distancer)

  1. distance
  2. detachment

Declension

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Declension of distance
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative distance distancen distancer distancerne
genitive distances distancens distancers distancernes

Further reading

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Esperanto

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Etymology

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From distanco +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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distance

  1. To or at a great distance.
    rigardi pentraĵon distance.

French

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle French distance, from Old French destance, destaunce, distaunce (“debate; difference, distinction; discord, quarrel; dispute; space between two points; time interval”), borrowed from Latin distantia (“difference, diversity; distance, remoteness; space between two points”).

Noun

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distance f (plural distances)

  1. distance (literal physical distance)
    On se tient à distance de deux kilomètres l’un de l’autre.
    We stand at a distance of two kilometers from each other.
  2. distance (metaphoric or figurative)
    Il convient de la tenir à une certaine distance.
    It's suitable to maintain a certain distance.
    • 2014, Jean-Claude Bernardon, Résolution de conflits:
      Votre langage doit vous permettre de maintenir une bonne distance de sécurité, être un peu plus poli et détaché que nécessaire est un avantage.
      Your language must allow you to maintain a good safe distance, to be a little more polite and detached than necessary is an advantage.
Derived terms
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Descendants
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Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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distance

  1. inflection of distancer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

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Latvian

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Noun

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distance f (5 declension)

  1. distance
  2. interval
  3. railway division

Declension

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Declension of distance (5th declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs) distance distances
accusative (akuzatīvs) distanci distances
genitive (ģenitīvs) distances distanču
dative (datīvs) distancei distancēm
instrumental (instrumentālis) distanci distancēm
locative (lokatīvs) distancē distancēs
vocative (vokatīvs) distance distances
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