Jump To:

• afar
  afar

  adverb

  from, at, or to a distance; far away (usually followed byoff ).
• Afar
  Afar

  noun

  a member of a nomadic Muslim people living in Eritrea, Djibouti, and northern Ethiopia.

afar

¹ American  

[uh-fahr] / əˈfɑr /

adverb

1. from, at, or to a distance; far away (usually followed byoff ).

   He saw the castle afar off.

---

idioms

1. from afar, from a long way off.

   The princess saw him riding toward her from afar.

Afar ² American  

[ah-fahr] / ˈɑ fɑr /

noun

Afars, plural Afara, plural Afar plural

1. a member of a nomadic Muslim people living in Eritrea, Djibouti, and northern Ethiopia.

2. the Northern Cushitic language spoken by the Afars.

---

afar British  

/ əˈfɑː /

adverb

1. at, from, or to a great distance

---

noun

1. a great distance (esp in the phrase from afar )

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Afar
  plural
• Afara
  plural
• Afars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of afar

1125–75; Middle English a fer, on ferr; replacing Old English feorran. See a- ¹ (perhaps also a- ² for the meaning “from”), far

Explanation

If something's off at a distance, you can describe it as being afar. You might write a letter to your pen pal in Japan, and say, "This note comes to you from afar." Afar is a poetic and old-fashioned way to say "far away" or "distant." If your summer visitors have traveled from afar, they've come a long way to see you, and if your boyfriend moves to Australia, you might have to continue your relationship from afar. The word is a shortened form of the Old English of feor, in which of means "of" or "on," and feor is "far, remote, or distant."

Example Sentences

This massive system extends from the Afar Depression in northeastern Ethiopia all the way to Mozambique, separating the African tectonic plate from the Arabian and Somali plates.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026

According to Alemseged, the lack of Paranthropus fossils in the Afar had long puzzled researchers.

From Science Daily • Jan. 23, 2026

At least 22 migrants have been killed and 65 others injured after a lorry they were travelling in overturned in Ethiopia's north-eastern Afar region, authorities say.

From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026

The Afar regional government said it was "doing all the necessary life saving operations" on the injured migrants following the "horrific" accident.

From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026

Afar above a flock of rooks soared, winding round and round a geometrical staircase in the air, with outstretched wings like leaves upborne and slowly rotating edge first.

From Bevis The Story of a Boy by Jefferies, Richard