furlong

[fur-lawng, -long]

noun

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

Origin of furlong

before 900; Middle English; Old English furlang length of a furrow. See furrow, long¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for furlong

Contemporary Examples of furlong

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

Historical Examples of furlong

And so, with every furlong of the forced journey, he died a fresh death.
The Wild Geese
Stanley John Weyman
The House of Turriepuffit stood about a furlong from David's cottage.
David Elginbrod
George MacDonald
At a furlong's distance every wolf stopped and turned round.
Chatterbox, 1905.
Various
His house was scarcely a furlong distant, yet he was an hour crawling to it.
Put Yourself in His Place
Charles Reade
Nor had he gone a furlong more when just ahead he spied the lions themselves.
The Story-teller
Maud Lindsay

British Dictionary definitions for furlong

furlong

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

Word Origin and History for furlong

Old English furlang measure of distance of roughly 220 yards, originally the length of a furrow in the common field of 10 acres, from furh "furrow" + lang "long." The "acre" of the common field being variously measured, the furlong was fixed 9c. on the classical stadium, one-eighth of a Roman mile.