Meaning

verb promote the growth of

verb contribute to the progress or growth of

adjective more distant in especially degree

originFrom 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,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0