furlong
/ˈfɜːlɒŋ/
"furlong" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“furlong” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,993. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #36,993
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.
Corpus desk
Index EN-furlong · furlong · English
furlong · rank #36,993 · 11 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-MID #36,993
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH genocidal
Nearest frequency peer: genocidal (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “furlong”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- frayed
frayed
63,010 corpus weight
- furlong
furlong
63,008 corpus weight
- genocidal
genocidal
63,007 corpus weight
- germination
germination
63,006 corpus weight
- geyser
geyser
63,005 corpus weight
- gibbon
gibbon
63,004 corpus weight
What this shows “furlong” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | furlong |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɜːlɒŋ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #36,993 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “furlong”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around furlong (IPA /ˈfɜːlɒŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,993 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for furlong, with forms such as "ffurlong", "frulong", and "fulrong". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "furlough", "fueling", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *dlongʰos 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 f… The correct English form is furlong, spelled F-U-R-L-O-N-G.
Definition
- 1A 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.
- 2A unit of land area one furlong (sense 1) square (ten acres, or about four hectares).
- 3An undefined portion of an unenclosed field.
- 4Synonym of stadion (“a Greek unit of distance based on standardized footraces, equivalent to about 185.4 metres”).
- 5Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”).
- 6Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows”).
- 7Synonym of land (“any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing”).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how furlong appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Novv vvould I giue a thouſand furlongs of Sea, for an Acre of barren ground: Long heath, Brovvne firrs, any thing; the vvills aboue be done, but I vvould faine dye a dry death.
And the winepreſſe vvas troden vvithout the citie, and blood came out of the vvinepreſſe, euen vnto the horſe bridles, by the ſpace of a thouſand and ſixe hundred furlongs.
Etymology
PIE word *dlongʰos 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.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ffurlong
- frulong
- fulrong
- furllong
- furlnog
- furlogn
- furlongg
- furlonng
- furolng
- furrlong
- ufrlong
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of furlong - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "furlong", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).