furlong

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See also: Furlong

English[edit]

WOTD – 15 April 2023

Etymology[edit]

PIE word
*dlongʰos
The five furlong (sense 1) post at the Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey, England, United Kingdom, which indicates that racehorses passing this point are five furlongs from the finishing line.

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],[1] 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”)),[2] originally the typical length of a furrow in an average field.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

furlong (plural furlongs or (archaic) furlong)

  2. 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.
    • 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:
      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.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 14:20, column 1:
      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.
    • 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:
      [T]he Otter ſmels a fiſh forty furlong off him in the water; […]
    • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress (The Noel Douglas Replicas), London: Noel Douglas, […], 1928, →OCLC, page 49:
      [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.
    • 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:
      The fresh and desperate onset bore / The foes three furlongs back and more, / Leaving their noblest in their gore.
    • 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:
      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.
      From “an article which recently appeared in one of the London Magazines”.
    • 1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Monadnoc”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 110:
      His day's ride is a furlong space, / His city tops a glimmering haze.
    • 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:
      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.
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 17: Ithaca]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 670:
      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).
    • 2022 August 20, Greg Wood, “Frankie Dettori goes his own way to take Ebor aboard Trawlerman”, in The Observer‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-09-26:
      [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.
  3. (dated)
    1. A unit of land area one furlong (sense 1) square (ten acres, or about four hectares).
    2. (British, 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”)
    Synonyms: stade, stadium
  5. (obsolete except British, dialectal, agriculture)
    1. Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”)
    2. Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows; any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing”)

Alternative forms[edit]

Translations[edit]

synonym of stadion — see stadion
synonym of headland — see headland
synonym of land — see land

References[edit]

  1. ^ “furlong, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ Compare “furlong, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “furlong, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English furlang; equivalent to forow +‎ long.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈfurˌlɔnɡ/, /ˈfurˌlanɡ/, /ˈfɔr-/

Noun[edit]

furlong (plural furlonges or furlong)

  1. furlong (unit of length)
  2. A unit of area of around ten acres.
  3. (rare) A racecourse.

Descendants[edit]

  • English: furlong

References[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English furlong.

Noun[edit]

furlong c

  1. (chiefly foreign) a furlong
    • 1870 April 13, “Oxford- och Cambridgestudenternes kapprodd [The Oxford and Cambridge students' rowing race]”, in Aftonbladet, page 3:
      Väglängden var 4 (eng.) mil och tre furlongs (1 furlong = 338 alnar).
      The waterway length was 4 (English) miles and three furlongs (1 furlong = 338 ells).
    • 1919 June 19, “Englands derby [England's derby]”, in Tidning för idrott, page 4:
      Starten blef rätt god, ingen blef lämnad efter, och fältet höll väl ihop för en furlong framåt. Då drog Paper Money i väg och ledde fältet nedför backen och in på raka banan.
      The start was fair, no one was left behind, and the field stayed together well for a furlong ahead. Then Paper Money took off and led the field down the hill and onto the straight track.
    • 2023 December 5, Nils Hanson, “Nisse: Skäppan full av uråldriga mått [Nisse: The bushel full of ancient measurements.]”, in Dagens Nyheter:
      Kåseri. Att Storbritannien har anpassat sig till decimalsystemet är ju praktiskt, men nog var det mer färgstarkt med farthings, guineas, furlongs och chains.
      Causerie. It's practical that Britain has adapted to the decimal system, but there was certainly more colour with farthings, guineas, furlongs and chains.

Usage notes[edit]

  • The term seems to consistently maintain its English plural form (furlongs); the would-be Swedish plural form (furlonger) appears to be rare or nonexistent.
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