courser

1
[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]
See synonyms for courser on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person or thing that courses; hunter.

  2. a dog for coursing.

Origin of courser

1
First recorded in 1585–95; course + -er1

Words Nearby courser

Other definitions for courser (2 of 3)

courser2
[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]

nounLiterary.
  1. a swift horse.

Origin of courser

2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English courser, coursier, courcer, from Old French coursier, cursier, corsier, from unattested Vulgar Latin cursārius, equivalent to Latin curs(us) “running, race” + -ārius suffix forming adjectives and nouns; see origin at course, -ary; see also -er2

Other definitions for courser (3 of 3)

courser3
[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]

noun
  1. any of several swift-footed, ploverlike birds of the genera Cursorius and Pluvianus, chiefly of the desert regions of Asia and Africa.

Origin of courser

3
First recorded in 1800–10; irregularly formed from New Latin cursōrius “fitted for running,” equivalent to Latin cur(rere) “to run” + -sōrius, for -tōrius -tory1; cf. course

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use courser in a sentence

  • His coat-of-arms, that of the house of Friedwald, was richly emblazoned upon the housings of his courser.

    Under the Rose | Frederic Stewart Isham
  • Cherries should, of courser be seeded, or pitted, when they are prepared in this way.

    Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5 | Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
  • Then he must run a race with a courser so fleet that he fairly spurns the ground under his flying footsteps.

    How to Succeed | Orison Swett Marden
  • If our borders are invaded, it is only as the spur that is driven into the courser's flank to rouse his slumbering mettle.

    Pages From an Old Volume of Life | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
  • Gladly, said he, and they shook hands on it; a courser of Spain to an English hobby.

    Mary Tudor, Queen of France | Mary Croom Brown

British Dictionary definitions for courser (1 of 3)

courser1

/ (ˈkɔːsə) /


noun
  1. a person who courses hounds or dogs, esp greyhounds

  2. a hound or dog trained for coursing

British Dictionary definitions for courser (2 of 3)

courser2

/ (ˈkɔːsə) /


noun
  1. literary a swift horse; steed

Origin of courser

2
C13: from Old French coursier, from cours course

British Dictionary definitions for courser (3 of 3)

courser3

/ (ˈkɔːsə) /


noun
  1. a terrestrial plover-like shore bird, such as Cursorius cursor (cream-coloured courser), of the subfamily Cursoriinae of desert and semidesert regions of the Old World: family Glareolidae, order Charadriiformes

Origin of courser

3
C18: from Latin cursōrius suited for running, from cursus course

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012