furlong
/ˈfəːlɒŋ
/- The roar of the crowd must have been music to the ears of McCoy, who never looked back and led for all two miles and five furlongs of the race.
- This is a promising young horse, who is likely to relish every yard of the two miles and six furlongs.
Origin
Old English furlang, from furh 'furrow' + lang 'long'. The word originally denoted the length of a furrow in a common field (formally regarded as a square of ten acres). It was also used as the equivalent of the Roman stadium, one eighth of a Roman mile, whence the current sense. Compare with stadium.
Old English furlang is from furh ‘furrow’ and lang ‘long’, and meant the standard length of a furrow in a common field, which was regarded as a nominal square of ten acres. It was also used as the equivalent of the Roman measurement the stadium, one eighth of a Roman mile, which gave rise to the current sense. Stadium came from Greek stadion ‘race track’ and stadium came to be used in this sense in the early 17th century, with sports stadium appearing in the mid 19th century.