Furlong (fur)
The furlong is an imperial unit of length equal to one-eighth of a mile, 220 yards, or 201.168 meters. Once the fundamental unit of English land measurement, it now survives almost exclusively in horse racing, where track distances are still measured in furlongs. The Kentucky Derby, for example, is run over 10 furlongs.
Definition
One furlong equals exactly 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, 10 chains, one-eighth of a statute mile, or 201.168 meters. There are 8 furlongs in a mile. The furlong has no standing in the SI or any modern legal measurement system.
History
The word "furlong" derives from the Old English furh (furrow) and lang (long), meaning the length of a furrow in one acre of a ploughed field. In the medieval open-field farming system, a furlong was the distance an ox team could plough before needing to turn - roughly 660 feet. The furlong became foundational to English land measurement: an acre was defined as one furlong by one chain (66 feet) in area. When the statute mile was fixed at 8 furlongs (5,280 feet) by an Act of Parliament in 1593, the furlong's role as a building block of the English distance system was cemented. Metrication rendered it obsolete for most purposes.
Common Uses
Horse racing is the primary modern use of the furlong. Race distances in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, and Australia are specified in furlongs: a 6-furlong sprint covers 1,320 yards (1,207 m), and the classic mile race is 8 furlongs. Track signage at racecourses marks furlong poles. Some older UK Ordnance Survey maps show distances in furlongs. Historically, furlongs were used in land surveying and agricultural field measurement throughout the English-speaking world.
Did You Know? Facts About Furlong
- The Kentucky Derby is run over 10 furlongs (1.25 miles / 2,012 m).
- The furlong gave us the acre: one acre was originally one furlong (220 yards) long by one chain (22 yards) wide.
- In Myanmar (Burma), road distances were historically measured in furlongs, and some older road markers there still show furlongs.
- A furlong takes a racehorse about 12 seconds to cover at full gallop.
- The word "furlong" literally means "furrow-long" - the length of a single plough furrow in a medieval field.