courser

[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]

See synonyms for courser on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that courses; hunter.
a dog for coursing.

Origin of courser

First recorded in 1585–95; course + -er¹

Words Nearby courser

Other definitions for courser (2 of 3)

courser²

[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]

nounLiterary.

a swift horse.

Origin of courser

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

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

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. 2023

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

a person who courses hounds or dogs, esp greyhounds
a hound or dog trained for coursing

British Dictionary definitions for courser (2 of 3)

courser²

/ (ˈkɔːsə) /

noun

literary a swift horse; steed

Origin of courser

C13: from Old French coursier, from cours course

British Dictionary definitions for courser (3 of 3)

courser³

/ (ˈkɔːsə) /

noun

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

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

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