Phrase guide

far be it

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

phrase

Meaning 1

A disclaimer stating that something should not come to pass, or that a person would never do or think a certain thing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • Samuel 20:20, And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
  • October 1761, Oliver Cromwell, letter to Mr. Storie Far be it that soe much guilt should sticke to your hands, who live in a citye so renowned for the clere shininge light of the Gospell.
  • 1969, Eric Idle, "Marriage Guidance Counsellor", in Episode 2 of Monty Python's Flying Circus, also in And Now For Something Completely Different Deirdre (that's my wife) and I have always been very close companions, and I never particularly anticipated any marital strife. Indeed, the very idea of consulting such a professional marital advisor as yourself has always been of the greatest repugnance to me. Although, (chuckles) far be it from me to impugn the nature of your trade, or ... or profession.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque of Latin absit ("may it be away"), found in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible as part of the phrase absit hoc a me ("may this [thing] be away from me") at 1 Samuel 2:30, 1 Samuel 22:15 and 2 Samuel 20:20. Wyclif translated the phrase "Fer be this fro me"; the King James Version at 2 Samuel 20:20 has "Far be it from me".

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: pois se minusta — Translations
  • Finnish: toivotaan, ettei suinkaan... — Translations
  • French: loin de moi l'idée/l'intention de — Translations
  • Italian: lungi da me — Translations
  • Polish: daleko od — Translations
  • Serbo-Croatian: далеко било — Translations
  • Serbo-Croatian: daleko bilo — Translations
  • Spanish: lejos de mí — Translations