Dictionary

furlong en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈfɝˌlɔŋ/ (General-American)
• /ˈfɜːlɒŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio

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.

Meanings

1. 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.
   • [Frankie] Dettori took a bold approach to Trawlerman's wide draw in stall 20, galloping alone and in a clear lead towards the far rail as his 19 opponents sorted themselves out on the inside. He eventually edged across as they turned out of the back, but his carefully worked plan had apparently been to little avail as the well-fancied Earl Of Tyrone edged ahead two furlongs out with Alfred Boucher, a winner on Wednesday's card, also gaining ground. 2022 August 20, Greg Wood, “Frankie Dettori goes his own way to take Ebor aboard Trawlerman”, in The Observer, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Sep 2022:
   • 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:
   • 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:
   • [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:
   • His day's ride is a furlong space, / His city tops a glimmering haze. 1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Monadnoc”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 110:
   • 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:
   • His [the racehorse Ten Broeck's] next appearance was in the Kentucky Derby, at Louisville, won by Aristides, but was unplaced. At the Fall meeting at Lexington he was again unsuccessful in the sweepstakes for three-year olds,^([sic]) but three days afterward he defeated Bob Woolley and others in another sweepstakes of a mile and five furlongs. 1876 September 28, “Ten Broeck’s Victory”, in The New-York Times, volume XXVI, number 7813, New York, N.Y.: Raymond, Jones & Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 9, column 4:
   • A private wireless telegraph which would transmit by dot and dash system the result of a national equine handicap (flat or steeplechase) of 1 or more miles and furlongs won by an outsider at odds of 50 to 1 at 3 hr. 8 m. p. m. at Ascot (Greenwich time) the message being received and available for betting purposes in Dublin at 2.59 p. m. (Dunsink time). 1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 17: Ithaca]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 670:
   • [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:
   • 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:
2. (dated) A unit of land area one furlong (sense 1) square (ten acres, or about four hectares).
3. (UK, dated, dialectal) An undefined portion of an unenclosed field.
4. (historical) Synonym of stadion (“a Greek unit of distance based on standardized footraces, equivalent to about 185.4 metres”).
5. (dialectal, qualifier:obsolete except UK) Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”).
6. (dialectal, qualifier:obsolete except UK) Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows”).
7. (dialectal, qualifier:obsolete except UK) Synonym of land (“any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing”).

Forms

Synonyms

stade · land · stadion · stadium · land · headland

Translations (39)

kmr parçe-erd (undefined portion of an unenclosed field) · enm furlong (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · pdt Achtel (nds) (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · hi फर्लांग (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · fa فرلانگ (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · fi palsta (undefined portion of an unenclosed field) · pdt Achtelmiel (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · sv furlong (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · yue 浪 (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · uk фа́рлонг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · mk фу́рлонг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · cmn 化朗 (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · be фурлонг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · yue 化郎 (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · fi neliövakomitta (unit of land area one furlong square) · mr फरलाँग (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · ja ハロン (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · pl skrawek (undefined portion of an unenclosed field) · fr sillon (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · ka ფერლონგი (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · fr furlong (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · ko 펄롱 (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · pl furlong (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · tcy ಪರ್ಲಾಂಗ್ (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · uk фу́рлонг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · ar فرلنغ (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · pl furlong (unit of land area one furlong square) · ur فرلانگ (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · ru фарло́нг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · bg фърлонг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · cmn 浪 (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · ja ファーロング (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · fr stade (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · fi vakomitta (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · ru фурло́нг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · cv фурло́нг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · kk фурлонг (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · kmr furlong (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile) · cy ystaden (unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile)

wikipedia: Epsom Downs Racecourse