Dic: remove (one of its meanings as a noun)

• one remove away from complete rebuttal.
• Just one remove from madness.
• It imitates at many removes a Shakespearean tragedy.

remove:

1. the degree of difference.
2. Distance or degree of separation or remoteness.
3. degree of figurative distance or separation.

... Collins Essential, The American Heritage, WordNet 3.0,

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/remove