furlongs

A furlong is a unit of length in the British Imperial and United States customary systems. It is equal to one eighth of a mile, or 220 yards, 660 feet, and exactly 201.168 meters. In horse racing, distances are commonly stated in furlongs, with races ranging from 5 to 12 furlongs; popular distances include 6 furlongs and 8 furlongs (one mile).

Origin and etymology: The word comes from Old English furh langa, meaning “furrow long,” originally describing the length of a furrow that could be ploughed in a day by a team of oxen. The acre, a unit of area, was defined as the area of a rectangle one furlong long by one chain wide (66 feet by 660 feet), giving 43,560 square feet per acre. Consequently, 1 furlong equals 10 chains or 40 rods.

Conversions and relations: A furlong is 1/8 mile, 10 chains, 40 rods, and 1,320 yards? Not quite—that would be a mile. Correcting: 1 furlong equals 660 feet or 201.168 meters; 1 mile equals 8 furlongs. In metric terms, the exact length is 201.168 meters.

Usage today: A furlong remains standard in some sporting and land-survey contexts and in countries that retain imperial units, but it is uncommon in everyday measurement in most places, having largely been superseded by metric units.