Definition:Imperial/Length/Furlong
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Definition
The furlong is an imperial unit of length.
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | furlong | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 10\) | chains | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 40\) | rods, poles or perches | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 220\) | yards | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 660\) | feet | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 201 \cdotp 168\) | metres |
Linguistic Note
The word furlong derives from the old English furh lang, meaning furrow long.
The terms arise from the days of ploughing in mediaeval times.
The furlong was the length of a single furrow, which stretched the whole width of one of the acres into which the land was divided.
Sources
- 1944: Alfred E. Holbrow: Geometrical Drawing (12th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Section $\text I$. Introduction
- 1986: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers ... (previous) ... (next): $11$
- 1997: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $11$