Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A unit for measuring distance, equal to 1/8 mile (201 meters). See Table at measurement.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A measure of length equal to the eighth part of a mile, 40 rods, poles, or perches, 220 yards, or 201.17 meters. The furlong corresponds to the Roman stadium, and one eighth of any kind of mile is called a furlong in older writers. Thus, English writers of the sixteenth century often call 625 feet a furlong; and the reason is that 5 feet was taken to be a pace, so that a Roman mile of 1,000 paces would be 8 x 625 feet. So the eighth part of a Scotch mile, or nearly 742 feet, was a furlong. In the English translation of the New Testament furlong is used to translate the Greek
στάδιον , stadium. Abbreviated fur.
Wiktionary
- n. A unit of length equal to 220 yards or exactly 201.168 meters, now only used in measuring distances in horse-racing.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A measure of length; the eighth part of a mile; forty rods; two hundred and twenty yards.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a unit of length equal to 220 yards
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Old English furlang : furh, furrow + lang, long; see long1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The length of the acre, forty rods, has given rise to one of the familiar units of length, the furlong, that is, a "furrow-long," or the length of a furrow.”
An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England
“It may be that the position of her uncle's house (which was her home) at the corner of West Street nearest the barracks, the daily passing of the troops, the constant blowing of trumpet-calls a furlong from her windows, coupled with the fact that she knew nothing of the inner realities of military life, and hence idealized it, had also helped her mind's original bias for thinking men-at-arms the only ones worthy of a woman's heart.”
“Most importantly, in the very near future, you'll be watching races from Del Mar and Turfway Park and throwing around words like "furlong" and betting trifectas and superfectas.”
Hennegan Brothers: Tribeca Filmmakers: How To Be A Kentucky Derby Know-It-All
“a pound than to make the kingdom larger by calling a furlong a mile.”
The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 4
“Is Miracle Day finally coming into its own as it approaches its final furlong?”
“Super Saver had a quiet Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs, walking around the barn after turning in a strong three-furlong workout Monday in 36.60 seconds.”
“Out back, horses might be working out in their pool, or on a nine-furlong track.”
“The Larry Jones-trained son of A.P. Indy had a spectacular five-furlong workout (58.40) over the Pimlico track on Tuesday and appears to have come out of the Derby in good shape.”
“There is a 6 furlong sprint on the undercard that the first quarter will be blazed in less than 22 seconds.”
“Rheingold was narrowly beaten in the Derby by Roberto, given an especially forceful ride by Lester Piggott, while Hawaiian Sound might have held off Shirley Heights in 1978 if he had not drifted away from the rail in the final furlong.”
The Guardian: Barry Hills to retire as trainer and hand licence to son Charlie
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘furlong’.
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Old words
Old words: modern English words that are old according to criteria that are still vague: Either words common to several old languages or words substantially similar in old English. Please add to or...
mother, father, bark, spit, old, fire, this, that, black, thou, to give, hand and 259 more...
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Derby Day!
List of terms one could expect to hear or read in connection with the Kentucky Derby, or high-stakes horse racing in general. This is an open list.
morning line, filly, field, post, favorite, two-year-old, colt, three-year-old, lifetime starts, trained, trainer, owner and 91 more...
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EN - archaic words
abide, abjure, abroad, adamant, afield, aforetime, aghast, anon, apace, argent, assuage, aught and 328 more...
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AGRI - horse breeding
place bet, Przewalski's horse, piaffe, genus Claviceps, stadium jumping, draft animal, snaffle bit, noseband, equestrian sport, endurance riding, curb bit, dressage and 678 more...
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 523 more...
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Potpourri
eponymous, aa, pulchritude, gizmo, macabre, sui generis, solecism, solipsism, eldritch, samizdat, queue, obsequious and 469 more...
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bkerr's Words
wyrd, absinthe, homunculus, zorkmid, informon, decider, diachronic, frak, hwæt, feldercarb, yawp, dogfooding and 540 more...
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wreckingball's Words
reprehensible, problematize, crepuscular, deleterious, pestilent, strumpet, draggletail, interrobang, meretricious, systematize, schadenfreude, capricious and 443 more...
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The Measure of Man
Unusual, arcane, or obscure units of measure
cable, cabot, bushel, cade, caliper, callipic cycle, metonic cycle, cunit, air watt, ale gallon, allergy unit, amber and 228 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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nfk9595's Words
magnetohydrodynamics, bovine, epistle, gargantuan, kerfuffle, verbiage, morose, coup de main, elan, achtung, uber, verboten and 497 more...
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not the sum of their parts
words formed as the combination of two or more other words, but which have a meaning unrelated to either of the constituent words
earwig, ladyfinger, pantywaist, dovetail, eavesdropper, blackmail, greenhorn, mango, carpet, penny farthing, farthingale, damage and 118 more...
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measure my words
inch, chain, furlong, bushel, metre, litre, cubic metre, newton, farad, coulomb, faraday, pint and 40 more...
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measure up
avoirdupois, réaumur, fathom, league, furlong, decare, hectare, cubit, drachm, bushel, shekel, quintal and 16 more...
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measurements
c, kelvin, celcius, fahrenheit, foot, inch, metre, ohm, volt, ampere, watt, gram and 14 more...
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Old English Spelling Bee List
need to know these words!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
quell, bower, keen, alderman, cleanser, sallow, gristle, nestle, abide, gospel, nether, farthing and 84 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for furlong.
oroboros A measure of distance, a furrow long, the distance eight oxen in a plow-team can work without rest; also, one side of a 10-acre square. Jan 11, 2007