further

Further is a word with several related uses in English. As an adverb or adjective, it denotes distance or extent beyond what has been mentioned, or more generally, something additional or greater. As a verb, further means to promote, advance, or help bring something to a later stage.

Etymology traces Further to Old English furþer, from a root related to forward and far. The modern spellings further and farther reflect historical shifts in usage. In contemporary English, further is often preferred in formal or written contexts, while farther remains common for literal physical distance in some dialects, though this distinction is increasingly blurred in many varieties.

Usage tends to vary by variety and context. In American English, farther is typically reserved for physical distance, and further for figurative distance or degree; in British English, further is used for both senses more broadly. The phrase in furtherance of is a formal/legal expression meaning to promote or advance a particular aim or objective.

Common phrases include further information, to go further, to take further steps, and furthering someone’s interests. The word also appears in the noun form furtherance, or in the standard legal phrase in furtherance of, which situates action within a stated objective. Overall, further functions flexibly to indicate additional progression, extension, or support within discourse.