Furlong (fur)

US & ImperialTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

220 yards, one eighth of a mile (201.168 m). Still used to measure horse races in the UK, US and Ireland.

1 furlong = 201.168 meters (exactly).

About the furlong

Furrow plus long gives furlong, from the Old English furh and lang. A field strip one furlong in length was how far a team of oxen was thought to plough before pausing. The furlong has also long been treated as the equivalent of the Roman stadium, an ancient unit of similar size.

Its size was fixed against other units: 40 rods, 10 chains, 220 yards or 660 feet, which equals exactly 201.168 m. An acre was defined as one furlong long by one chain wide, so ten acres make a square furlong. When England shortened the foot in the late thirteenth century the furlong grew from 600 old feet to 660 new ones, keeping its length in rods. Eight furlongs make a mile. Official use ended in the UK under the Weights and Measures Act 1985, but racecourses, farms and canal signs still count in furlongs.

Sources: Wikipedia: Furlong; Wikipedia: Chain (unit)

Furlong conversion chart

1 furlong expressed in every other length unit:

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• dram (weight & mass)
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