furlong
nounUK /ˈfɜːlɒŋ/ · US /ˈfɝˌlɔŋ/
Etymology PIE word *dlongʰos From Middle English furlong, forlong (“unit of distance about one-eighth of a mile; quantity of land equal to one square furlong; racetrack for foot races; foot race”) [and other forms], from Old English furlang, furlung, from furh (“a furrow”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- (“to dig; to open; to rip up”) + lang (“long”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos (“long”)), originally the typical length of a furrow in an average field.
7 senses
- 1A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile (220…
- 2A unit of land area one furlong (sense 1) square (ten…
- 3An undefined portion of an unenclosed field.
- 4Synonym of stadion (“a Greek unit of distance based on…
- 5Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”).
- 6Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows”).
- 7Synonym of land (“any of several portions into which a…
A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile (220 yards, or 201.168 metres), now mainly used in measuring distances in farmland and horse racing.
- Novv vvould I giue a thouſand furlongs of Sea, for an Acre of barren ground: Long heath, Brovvne firrs, any thing; the vvills aboue be done, but I vvould faine dye a dry death.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 1, column 2:
- And the winepreſſe vvas troden vvithout the citie, and blood came out of the vvinepreſſe, euen vnto the horſe bridles, by the ſpace of a thouſand and ſixe hundred furlongs.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 14:20, column 1:
4 more examples
- [T]he Otter ſmels a fiſh forty furlong off him in the water; […]1653, Iz[aak] Wa[lton], chapter V, in The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing, […], London: […] T. Maxey for Rich[ard] Marriot, […], →OCLC; reprinted as The Compleat Angler (Homo Ludens; 6), Nieuwkoop, South Holland, Netherlands: Miland Publishers, 1969, →ISBN, page 128:
- [N]ovv before he had gone far, he entered into a very narrovv paſſage, vvhich vvas about a furlong off the Porters Lodge, and looking very narrovvly before him as he vvent, he eſpied tvvo Lions in the vvay.1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 49:
- The fresh and desperate onset bore / The foes three furlongs back and more, / Leaving their noblest in their gore.1815, Walter Scott, “Canto Sixth”, in The Lord of the Isles, a Poem, Edinburgh: […] [F]or Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; by James Ballantyne and Co., […], →OCLC, stanza XXIX, page 262:
- At first some intervening icebergs prevented Captain Warrens from distinctly seeing any thing except her masts but he was struck with the strange manner in which her sails were disposed, and with the dismantled aspect of her yards and rigging. She continued to go before the wind for a few furlongs, and then grounding upon the low icebergs, remained motionless.1829 January 1, “The Sketch Book. Danger of Sailing in High Latitudes.”, in The Cabinet of Instruction, Literature, and Amusement: […], volume I, number 8, New York, N.Y.: Theodore Burling, […], →OCLC, column 226:
Dated A unit of land area one furlong (sense 1) square (ten acres, or about four hectares).
Historical Synonym of stadion (“a Greek unit of distance based on standardized footraces, equivalent to about 185.4 metres”).
Agriculture, Business, Lifestyle Dialectal Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”).
Obsolete except UK
Agriculture, Business, Lifestyle Dialectal Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows”).
Obsolete except UK
Agriculture, Business, Lifestyle Dialectal Synonym of land (“any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing”).
Obsolete except UK