Entfernungs

Entfernungs is not a standard standalone term in modern German. The common noun is Entfernung, meaning distance or the amount of space between two points. The form Entfernungs- appears primarily as a stem in compound nouns that relate to distance, for example Entfernungsmesser (a device that measures distance), Entfernungsmessung (the act of measuring distance), or Entfernungskriterium (a criterion based on distance). The root nevertheless remains Entfernung, and Entfernungs- functions as a connecting morpheme in compounds rather than a separate word in ordinary use.

In everyday language, Entfernung refers to spatial separation between objects, places, or moments in time. In geography and cartography, it denotes the measured or calculated distance along a route or between coordinates, often expressed in meters, kilometers, or miles. In physics, distance is a scalar quantity describing the extent of separation, and it plays a central role in kinematics, relativity, and cosmology.

In mathematics, distance is formalized as a metric. For a set with elements x and y, a distance function d assigns a nonnegative number satisfying certain axioms. The Euclidean distance in n-dimensional space is d(x,y) = sqrt(sum_i (x_i - y_i)^2). Other metrics include Manhattan distance and various norm-induced distances. In computer science, distance measures underpin clustering, nearest-neighbor search, and similarity assessments.

Etymology and usage: Entfernung derives from the verb entfernen, meaning to remove or to distance. The term expresses the notion of being at a greater or lesser span apart. In compound form, Entfernungs- appears in many technical terms, while the base word Entfernung is declined as a feminine noun: die Entfernung, die Entfernungen, der Entfernung, der Entfernungen.

See also: Entfernung, Distanz, Entfernungsmesser, Entfernungsmessung, Metrik.