furlong
fur·long/ˈfɝˌlɔŋ/noun
furlong is spelled F-U-R-L-O-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables (fur·long). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, furlong means “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” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of furlong is furlongs.
How many letters and syllables are in furlong?
| Letters | 7: F-U-R-L-O-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fur·long |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is furlong?
Furlong appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce furlong?
- UK /ˈfɜːlɒŋ/
- US /ˈfɝˌlɔŋ/
Furlong has 2 syllables, split fur·long in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-furlong.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of furlong
- furlongs plural
- forlong
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does furlong mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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.
- 2
datedA unit of land area one furlong (sense 1) square (ten acres, or about four hectares).
- 3
UKdatedAn undefined portion of an unenclosed field.
- 4
Synonym of stadion (“a Greek unit of distance based on standardized footraces, equivalent to about 185.4 metres”).
- 5
Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”).
- 6
Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows”).
- 7
Synonym of land (“any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate furlong?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of furlong: fur..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Furlong in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does furlong come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).