Furtherest

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Just lately I have heard several people, including sports commentators on radio, using the term 'furtherest' when they obviously mean furthest. I have looked in several dictionaries and can't find 'furtherest'. The superlative of far is always given as 'furthest'. Has anyone else noticed this strange word creeping into use?

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[nq:1]Just lately I have heard several people, including sports commentators on radio, using the term 'furtherest' when they obviously mean ... 'furtherest'. The superlative of far is always given as 'furthest'. Has anyone else noticed this strange word creeping into use?[/nq]
I entered "furthest" in M-W online, and it took me to "far." There, I found "farther," "farthest, "further" and "furthest." No "furtherest" (or "fartherest," either). I've heard "furtherest," but mostly from little children.
The inflection of "far" is odd "th" is added. So, we don't go "farrer" or "furrer," and we didn't go "farrest" or "furrest." (On the other hand, "farthing" doesn't mean the act of going far at least I don't think it does.)
There's probably a reason for all that "th" business, and someone here probably knows what it is. And I'll probably be called lazy because I didn't try to find out that reason. I'm not lazy, though. I just want to give someone else a chance to shine.

Maria Conlon
Please send any email to the Hot Mail address.

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[nq:1]Just lately I have heard several people, including sports commentators on radio, using the term 'furtherest' when they obviously mean ... 'furtherest'. The superlative of far is always given as 'furthest'. Has anyone else noticed this strange word creeping into use?[/nq]
I agree that "furtherest" has an extra syllable.
M-W Online: (An American dictionary Merriam-Webster searching for farthest and furthest)
Main Entry: 1far
Pronunciation: 'fär
Function: adverb
Inflected Form(s): far·ther /-(th)&r/; or fur·ther /'f&r-/; far·thest or fur·thest /-(th)&st/
Etymology: Middle English fer, from Old English feorr; akin to Old High German ferro far, Old English faran to go more at FARE

I entered "farthest" just to check on how times have changed. I think that sometime in high school I used "farthest" and got marked down for it.

And there is the dialectal usage "How fur is it to the next town?"

I wonder why we added the "th" anyway. I can just as easily say farest, most far.
And there is the dialectal usage "How fur is it to the next town?"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Just lately I have heard several people, including sports commentatorson ... 'furthest'. Has anyone elsenoticed this strange word creeping into use?[/nq]
[nq:1]I agree that "furtherest" has an extra syllable. M-W Online: (An American dictionary Merriam-Webster searching forfarthest and furthest) Main Entry: 1far ... as easily say farest, most far. And there is the dialectal usage "How fur is it to the next town?"[/nq]
Oops!
I copied and pasted instead of cut and pasted.
Pat

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Maria Conlon filted:
[nq:2]Just lately I have heard several people, including sports commentators ... Has anyone else noticed this strange word creeping into use?[/nq]
[nq:1]I entered "furthest" in M-W online, and it took me to "far." There, I found "farther," "farthest, "further" and "furthest." No "furtherest" (or "fartherest," either). I've heard "furtherest," but mostly from little children.[/nq]
I wonder if at least some of this isn't metathesis at work, with someone saying "futh

rest" for "furthest", and someone else imagining he hears an additional r in front of the edh..r

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Freddy:
[nq:1]Just lately I have heard several people, including sports commentators on radio, using the term 'furtherest' when they obviously mean ... 'furtherest'. The superlative of far is always given as 'furthest'. Has anyone else noticed this strange word creeping into use?[/nq]
Your posts are the funnerest! (Not!)

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Pat:
[nq:2]I entered "farthest" just to check on how times have changed. I think[/nq]
[nq:1]that[/nq]
[nq:2]sometime in high school I used "farthest" and got marked down for it.[/nq]
That's odd. I've always known the rule as "farther" is used for distance and "further" is used more abstractly, to show figurative depth: explaining the material further or discussing the issue further.
[nq:2]I wonder why we added the "th" anyway. I can just as easily say farest, most far.[/nq]
I think I say "farthest" and "farest" equally often. It seems they each mean slightly different things though. I'd use "farest" to talk about the distance from here to something. I'd use "farthest" to compare two remote things. For example, that galaxy is the farthest from Neptune, or something like that.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Just lately I have heard several people, including sports commentators on radio, using the term 'furtherest' when they obviously mean ... 'furtherest'. The superlative of far is always given as 'furthest'. Has anyone else noticed this strange word creeping into use?[/nq]
Perhaps it is an extension of the concept of Mount Everest which is the tallest mountain ever.
S&

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[nq:1]I entered "furthest" in M-W online, and it took me to "far." There, I found "farther," "farthest, "further" and "furthest." No "furtherest" (or "fartherest," either). I've heard "furtherest," but mostly from little children.[/nq]
How does "furthermost" fit in with all this? Is there a difference between "furthest" and "furthermost"? I would normally use "furthermost" for static items, but "futhest" for objects in motion. For example
1. (giving directions). Go along this road, straight over severalcrossroads. At the furthermost T-junction, turn right.
2. Smith and Thompson both walked a long way, but Jones walked thefurthest.
Richard Chambers Leeds UK.

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Dictionary gives furthermost as simply meaning furthest. \Fur"***"\, a. Most remote; furthest.

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[nq:2]I entered "furthest" in M-W online, and it took me ... "fartherest," either). I've heard "furtherest," but mostly from little children.[/nq]
[nq:1]How does "furthermost" fit in with all this? Is there a difference between "furthest" and "furthermost"? I would normally use ... At the furthermost T-junction, turn right. 2. Smith and Thompson both walked a long way, but Jones walked the furthest.[/nq]
Yes, but in the second example that is an adverb. There is no adverb "furthermost", so you had to use "furthest" (or "farthest").

Other than that, the adjectives "furthermost" and "farthest" or "furthest" are synonymous. Of the latter two, I'd use "farthest" when speaking of distances.

Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

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