noun
- the fact or condition of being separated or removed in space or time; remoteness
- a gap, space, or interval between two points, lines, objects, etc.
- an interval between two points in time
- the length of a line between two points: the distance between Paris and Rome
- a remoteness in relationship; dissimilarity; disparity: the distance between wealth and poverty
- a remoteness in behavior; coolness of manner; reserve
- a remote point in space: away in the distance
- a faraway point of time: at this distance we cannot know Neanderthal man
- Painting the depicting of distance, as in a landscape
- Horse Racing a space that is a certain distance back from the finish line: in order to be qualified for future heats, a horse must have reached this space by the time the winner has completed the course
Origin:
ME distaunce < OFr distance < L distantia < distans, prp. of distare, to stand apart < dis-, apart + stare, stand
transitive verb distanced, distancing
- to place or hold at some distance
- to place (oneself) at an emotional distance from something
- to cause to be at a mental or emotional distance from an audience, reader, etc.
- to do better or more than; leave behind; outdo; outdistance