# further

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈfɜː.ðə/ · frequency rank #490

## Definitions
1. To help forward; to assist.
2. To encourage growth; to support progress or growth of something; to promote.

## Etymology
From Middle English further, forther, from Old English forþor, furþor (“further”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *furþer, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (a common preposition), equivalent to fore + -ther (a vestigial comparative ending still present in such words as other, either, whether, and, in altered form, in after); or as sometimes stated, as forth + -er. Cognate with Scots forder, furder (“further”), Saterland Frisian foarder (“further”), West Frisian fierder (“further”), Dutch verder (“further”), German fürder (“further”).

## Easily confused with
- **furthest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/further-vs-furthest)
- **father** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/father-vs-further)
- **farther** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/farther-vs-further)
- **feather** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/feather-vs-further)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ffurther`, `fruther`, `furhter`, `furrther`, `furtehr`, `furtherr`, `furthher`, `furthre`, `furtther`, `futrher`, `ufrther`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/further