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courser1

[kawr-ser, kohr-]
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noun
  1. a person or thing that courses.
  2. a dog for coursing.
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Origin of courser1

First recorded in 1585–95; course + -er1

courser2

[kawr-ser, kohr-]
noun Literary.
  1. a swift horse.
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Origin of courser2

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

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.
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Origin of courser3

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. 2018

Related Words

houndcourserchaserfoxhound

Examples from the Web for courser

Historical Examples

  • 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

courser1

noun
  1. a person who courses hounds or dogs, esp greyhounds
  2. a hound or dog trained for coursing
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courser2

noun
  1. literary a swift horse; steed
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Word Origin

C13: from Old French coursier, from cours course

courser3

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
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Word Origin

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

n.

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.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper