furlong

[ fur-lawng, -long ]

/ ˈfɜr lɔŋ, -lɒŋ /

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noun

a unit of distance, equal to 220 yards (201 meters) or ⅛ mile (0.2 kilometer). Abbreviation: fur.

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Origin of furlong

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English furlang “length of a furrow”; see origin at furrow, long¹

Words nearby furlong

furioso, furious, furiously, furkid, furl, furlong, furlough, furmenty, furmint, furnace, Furness

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use furlong in a sentence

If you text a friend asking them to go for a trail run or a bike ride and propose the distance to them in furlongs or rods, please send me a screenshot that includes their reaction.
Outdoor Things, but by Unfamiliar Measurements|Brendan Leonard|June 22, 2021|Outside Online
But Furlong became legally emancipated that same year, at the age of 16.
The John Connor Curse: Nick Stahl, Edward Furlong and Christian Bale|Marlow Stern|May 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A mile-way is twenty minutes; a furlong-wey is two minutes and a half; and the double of it is five minutes.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
A furlong-wey meant the time during which one can walk a furlong, at three miles an hour.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer

Then the steady gallop of Rollo told once more—another furlong, and the Ismaelian would face his doom.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
It certainly makes no difference whether the land be a square furlong or a continent.
The Inhumanity of Socialism|Edward F. Adams
And one company of my bowmen would put them all to flight ere you could ride a furlong!
Sarchedon|G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville

British Dictionary definitions for furlong

furlong

/ (ˈfɜːˌlɒŋ) /

noun

a unit of length equal to 220 yards (201.168 metres)

Word Origin for furlong

Old English furlang, from furh furrow + lang long 1

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