afield

English

Etymology

From Middle English afeld, a-felde, o felde, on felde, from Old English on felde (“afield”, literally “in (the) field”), equivalent to a- (“on”) +‎ field.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /əˈfiːld/
  • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːld

Adverb

afield (comparative more afield, superlative most afield)

  1. Away (from the home or starting point, physical or conceptual). (Often preceded by far, farther, or further.)
    This latest excursion took us farther afield than ever.
    His latest remarks went far afield of any mainstream conception.
    • 1924, First Parish in Concord (Concord, Mass.)., Gail Cleland, Loren Benjamin Macdonald, Trinitarian Congregational Church (Concord, Mass.) (contributors), The Union Service in the Meeting House of the First Parish in Concord, Sunday, October Fifth, 1924, After the Burning of the Trinitarian Congregational Church, October Fourth, 1924, page 11:
      The Christian movement, forced by adversity to abandon its first home in Jerusalem, reached far afield and swept over all of the civilized world.
    • 1969 April, Marcia M. Eaton, “Art, Artifacts, and Intentions”, in American Philosophical Quarterly, volume 6, number 2, →JSTOR, page 168:
      It is not going at all far afield to say that in everyday conversation we are constantly making interpretations of this sort.
    • 1999, Jacob S. Hacker, The Road to Nowhere: The Genesis of President Clinton's Plan for Healthy Security, →ISBN, page 118:
      Whether things could have been different is an open question, and one that would take us far afield from the focus of this book.
    • 2002, Philip F. Esler, The Early Christian World, →ISBN, page 3:
      There were Christians developing notable traditions somewhat away from the Mediterranean and outside the Roman empire, in places like Armenia, or even further afield, in India
    • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
      My fellow passengers are a mixture of people returning from a day out in the capital, locals doing short hops, and a few (like me) heading farther afield.
  2. On the field.
    We now have both teams afield and can begin the match.
  3. Out in the open.
    • 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson, “[Our Lady of the Snows.] .”, in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, 1st American edition, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 116:
      The merchant was much interested in my journey, and thought it dangerous to sleep afield.
    • 2000, Robert Manns, Night of the Frogs & Sautee and Nacoochee, →ISBN, page 27:
      Meanwhile, witch Tituba, Tonight you sleep afield, molest not this house. Return here early for your judgement.

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