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Furlong Has Old English Roots
Furlong is an English original that can be traced back to Old English furlang, a combination of the noun furh (“furrow”) and the adjective lang (“long”). Though now standardized as a length of 220 yards (or 1/8th of a mile), the furlong was originally defined less precisely as the length of a furrow—a trench in the earth made by a plow—in a cultivated field. This length was equal to the long side of an acre—an area originally defined as the amount of arable land that could be plowed by a yoke of oxen in a day, but later standardized as an area measuring 220 yards (one furlong) by 22 yards, and now defined as any area measuring 4,840 square yards. In contemporary usage, furlong is often encountered in references to horse racing.
Examples of furlong in a Sentence
Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Which is where Sovereignty’s exceedingly tough last two furlongs of the Kentucky Derby — through the mud — will come in handy for trainer William Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Both were at a much shorter distance than the Derby’s 10 furlongs, but that’s still a factor worth considering.
—Teresa Genaro, New York Times, 2 May 2025
With jockey Flavien Prat aboard and sent off as the even-money favorite, Eagles Flight won the maiden special weight race for six furlongs by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:10.07.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for furlong
Cite this Entry
“Furlong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/furlong. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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furlong
noun
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