far-flung

English

WOTD – 18 December 2022

Etymology

From far +‎ flung (“thrown”),^[1] suggesting something which has been thrown a long distance away from oneself.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌfɑːˈflʌŋ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌfɑɹˈflʌŋ/

Adjective

far-flung (comparative more far-flung or further-flung, superlative most far-flung or furthest-flung)

Distant or remote in relationship, space, or time.
Synonyms: far-off, outlying; see also Thesaurus:distant

Antonyms: see Thesaurus:near
- 1897 July 17, Rudyard Kipling, “[Service Songs] Recessional”, in The Five Nations, London: Methuen and Co. […], published September 1903, →OCLC, page 214:
  God of our fathers, known of old, / Lord of our far-flung battle-line, / […] / Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, / Lest we forget—lest we forget!
- 2020 March 11, Daniel Puddicombe, “Analysis: Little Prospect of Bringing Back Motorail … for Now”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 32:
  Introduced in the 1960s, Motorail was successful at a time when long-distance travel by car was a time-consuming process because of a lack of motorways. Services, both during the day and at night, ran to such far-flung places on the map as Penzance, Fishguard, Inverness and Fort William.
Widely distributed, wide-ranging, or widespread.
Synonyms: common, ubiquitous; see also Thesaurus:widespread
- 1960 June, “Talking of Trains: New B.R. Research Laboratory”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 328:
  In the spacious laboratories and offices […] are provided not only centralised chemical research facilities for the far-flung London area, but also accommodation for the national headquarters of the B.R. Chemical Services, […]
- 1985 February 2, Janice Irvine, Sue Hyde, “The Discourse and the Action”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 28, page 8:
  In her introductory essay, editor Carole Vance acknowledges the problem of women's status as an "understudied group." She invites both careful and far-flung conversation about sex and difference, and urges s to resist making generalizations based on an incomplete dialogue.
Widely but sparsely distributed.
Synonyms: scattered, dispersed

Translations

distant or remote in relationship, space, or time — see distant

widely distributed, wide-ranging, or widespread — see widespread

References

^ “far-flung, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “far-flung, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[1] “far-flung, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “far-flung, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[1]