furlong

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a unit of distance equal to one eighth of a mile, 220 yards, or 201.168 metres, now used chiefly in horse racing

   The favorite took the lead with one furlong left to run.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a long division or group of strips in an unenclosed field

   The medieval holding consisted of narrow strips scattered across each furlong.

From Old English furlang, literally 'furrow-long', formed from furh, 'furrow', and lang, 'long'. It denoted the usual length of a furrow before a team of oxen rested, and that agricultural distance became standardized as one eighth of a mile.

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