Definition of FURLONG

furlong

Plural: furlong, furlongs

Noun

  • A unit of distance equal to one eighth of a mile.
  • a unit of length equal to 220 yards
  • A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile (220 yards, or 201.168 metres), now mainly used in measuring distances in farmland and horse racing.
  • A unit of land area one furlong square (ten acres, or about four hectares).
  • An undefined portion of an unenclosed field.
  • Synonym of stadion (“a Greek unit of distance based on standardized footraces, equivalent to about 185.4 metres”).
  • Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”).
  • Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows”).
  • Synonym of land (“any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing”).

Examples

  • He was a furlong away from winning, needing just a few more points to clinch the Scrabble game.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*dlongʰos
From Middle English furlong, forlong (“unit of distance about one-eighth of a mile; quantity of land equal to one square furlong; racetrack for foot races; foot race”) [and other forms], from Old English furlang, furlung, from furh (“a furrow”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- (“to dig; to open; to rip up”) + lang (“long”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos (“long”)), originally the typical length of a furrow in an average field.

Scrabble Score: 11

furlong: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
furlong: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
furlong: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

furlong: valid Words With Friends Word