farsighted

the word 'farsighted' is a transparent compound formed from native english elements. the first element, 'far', derives from the old english 'feorr', meaning 'to a great distance', which has proto-germanic origins. the second element, 'sight', comes from the old english 'gesiht' or 'sihþ', meaning 'thing seen' or 'faculty of seeing', related to the verb 'to see'. the suffix '-ed' is used to form participial adjectives. the literal meaning, 'having the ability to see far', developed in the 17th century to describe the optical condition. the metaphorical sense of 'prudent' or 'having foresight' emerged in the 19th century by logically extending the physical ability to a mental capacity for long-range planning.

Structure: far + sight + ed far (old english) - at or to a great distance; functional role: adverb modifying 'sight'. sight (old english) - the faculty or power of seeing; functional role: core noun root. ed (old english) - suffix forming adjectives from nouns or other adjectives; functional role: adjective-forming suffix meaning 'having the quality of'.