grew up a long way from here

[kadioguy]

In the MWALED, it says:
a long way
: a great distance

He grew up a long way from here.

http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/long
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What does this sentence mean? (especially a long way)

'He developed into an adult a great distance from here.'?

 

[Matthew Wai]

He developed into an adult in a place which was a great distance from here.

 

[kadioguy]

Does 'a long way' here function as an adverb?

 

[GoesStation]

I'm a tentative grammarian at best, but surely a long way from is modifying "here". An antonym would be ​near here.

 

[kadioguy]

I'm a tentative grammarian at best, but surely a long way from is modifying "here". An antonym would be ​near here.

I meant 'a long way "here"' = 'a long way "in this sentence"'.
So, what I meant is "does 'a long way' in this sentence function as an adverb?".

 

[Matthew Wai]

1. He grew up a long way from here.
2. He grew up far from here.

'Far' is an adverb, so I think 'a long way' is adverbial.