courser

[kawr-ser, kohr-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR courser ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that courses.

a dog for coursing.

Origin of courser

First recorded in 1585–95; course + -er¹

courser

[kawr-ser, kohr-]

noun Literary.

a swift horse.

Origin of courser

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French coursier < Vulgar Latin *cursārius, equivalent to Latin curs(us) course + -ārius -ary; see -er²

courser

[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

1760–70; irregular < 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. 2019

Related Words for courser

hound, courser, chaser, foxhound

Examples from the Web for courser

Historical Examples of courser

The jackal lapped the courser's blood, and moaned with exquisite delight.
Alroy
Benjamin Disraeli
I have seen it, child; a rocky wilderness, where I would not let my courser graze.'
Alroy
Benjamin Disraeli
Still the courser onward rushes, still his mighty heart supports him.
Alroy
Benjamin Disraeli
He rode like one insane, and his courser partook of his frenzy.
Rookwood
William Harrison Ainsworth
At evening fall I chanced to ride, My courser to a tree I tied.
Signelil
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for courser

courser

noun

a person who courses hounds or dogs, esp greyhounds

a hound or dog trained for coursing

courser

noun

literary a swift horse; steed

Word Origin for courser

C13: from Old French coursier, from cours course

courser

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

Word Origin for 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

Word Origin and History for courser

large, powerful horse," c.1300, from Old French corsier "fast horse, charger," literally "fast-running," from Vulgar Latin *cursarius, from Latin cursus (see course (n.)).