distance

distance

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of distance in English

English Online Dictionary. What means distance‎? What does distance mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English distance, distaunce, destance (“disagreement, dispute; discrimination; armed conflict; hostility; trouble; space between two points; time interval”), 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). 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.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɪst(ə)ns/
  • Rhymes: -ɪstəns
  • Hyphenation: dis‧tance

Noun

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.
      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; specifically (especially painting), a more remote part of a landscape or view as contrasted with the foreground.
    4. Chiefly with a modifying word: a measure between two points or quantities; a difference, a variance.
      angular distance    focal distance
    5. An interval or length of time between events.
    6. (figurative) A separation in some way other than space or time.
    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.
      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.
    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.
      2. The state of remoteness or separation in some way other than space or time.
      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
      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.
      3. Often followed by to or towards: an attitude of remoteness or reserve which respect requires; hence, ceremoniousness.

Alternative forms

  • distaunce (obsolete)

Derived terms

Related terms

  • distant

Translations

Verb

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.
    2. To cause (a place, a thing, etc.) to seem distant, or (figurative) unfamiliar.
    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
    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.
    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.
    6. (obsolete)
      1. To cover the entire distance to (something).
      2. To depart from (a place); to leave (a place) behind.
      3. To indicate or measure the distance to (a place).
      4. To set (two or more things) at regular distances from each other; to space, to space out.
  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.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

  • distance on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  • distance (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  • William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “distance”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
  • “distance”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
  • “distance”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

  • danciest

Danish

Etymology

From French distance.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

distance c (singular definite distancen, plural indefinite distancer)

  1. distance
  2. detachment

Declension

Further reading

  • “distance” in Den Danske Ordbog

Esperanto

Etymology

From distanco +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /diˈstant͡se/
  • Rhymes: -ant͡se
  • Hyphenation: di‧stan‧ce

Adverb

distance

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

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dis.tɑ̃s/
  • Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Etymology 1

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

distance f (plural distances)

  1. distance (literal physical distance)
  2. distance (metaphoric or figurative)
Derived terms
Related terms
  • distant
Descendants
  • Antillean Creole: distans
  • Haitian Creole: distans
  • → Russian: диста́нция (distáncija)
    • → Georgian: დისტანცია (disṭancia)
    • → Ukrainian: диста́нція (dystáncija)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

distance

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

Further reading

  • “distance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latvian

Noun

distance f (5 declension)

  1. distance
  2. interval
  3. railway division

Declension

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.