furlong

furlong
/ferr"lawng, -long/, n.
a unit of distance, equal to 220 yards (201 m) or 1/8 mile (0.2 km). Abbr.: fur.
[bef. 900; ME; OE furlang length of a furrow. See FURROW, LONG1]

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▪ English unit of measurement
      old English unit of length, based on the length of an average plowed furrow (hence “furrow-long,” or furlong) in the English open- or common-field system. Each furrow ran the length of a 40 × 4-rod acre, or 660 modern feet. The standardization of such linear units as the yard, foot, and inch—begun by government enactment sometime between 1266 and 1303—recognized the traditional sizes of rods (rod), furlongs, and acres (acre) as fixed and therefore simply redefined them in terms of the newly standardized units. Thus, the furlong, often measured as 625 northern (German) feet, became 660 standard English feet, and the mile, always 8 furlongs, became 5,280 feet. Today, the furlong is used almost exclusively in horse racing.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Furlong — Fur long, n. [OE. furlong, furlang, AS. furlang, furlung, prop., the length of a furrow; furh furrow + lang long. See {Furrow}, and {Long}, a.] A measure of length; the eighth part of a mile; forty rods; two hundred and twenty yards. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • furlong — ● furlong nom masculin (anglais furlong) Unité anglo saxonne de longueur agraire, égale à 220 yards …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • furlong — O.E. furlang measure of distance (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… …   Etymology dictionary

  • furlong — [fʉr′lôŋ΄] n. [ME < OE furlang, a measure, lit., length of a furrow < furh, FURROW + lang, LONG1] a unit of length in the FPS system, equal to 220 yards or 1/ 8 statute mile (201.168 meters): one square furlong equals ten acres: abbrev. fur …   English World dictionary

  • Furlong — (spr. Förrióng), englisches Längenmaß = 1/8 englische Meile …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Furlong — (engl., spr. för , eigentlich a furrow long, »eine Furchenlänge«), engl. Feldmaß zu 10 Chains von 22 Yards = 201,164 m, in den Vereinigten Staaten = 201,168 m; bis 1825 in Schottland 240 Ells = 226,769 m und in Irland 280 Yards = 256,027 m …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Furlong — (spr. för ), engl. Längenmaß zu 220 Yards oder 660 Fuß = 201,16 m …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Furlong — (förrlong), 1/8 engl. Meile …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Furlong —   [ fəːlɔȖ; englisch, eigentlich »Länge einer Furche«] das, s/ s, Einheitenzeichen fur, in Großbritannien und in den USA verwendete Längeneinheit der Landwirtschaft: 1 fur = 220 yards = 201,168 m =1/8 mile.   …   Universal-Lexikon

  • furlong — ► NOUN ▪ an eighth of a mile, 220 yards. ORIGIN from the Old English words for «furrow» + «long» (originally denoting the length of a furrow in a common field) …   English terms dictionary

  • Furlong — unit of length m= 201.16800 accuracy=6 A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units. It is equal to one eighth of a mile or 660 feet or 201.168 metres.Five furlongs are approximately 1 kilometre (1.00584 km to be… …   Wikipedia

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