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hurdle
- 5 dictionary resultshur⋅dle
[hur-dl] 
noun, verb, -dled, -dling.–noun
| 1. | a portable barrier over which contestants must leap in certain running races, usually a wooden frame with a hinged inner frame that swings down under impact to prevent injury to a runner who does not clear it. |
| 2. | hurdles, (used with a singular verb ) a race in which contestants must leap over a number of such barriers placed at specific intervals around the track. Compare high hurdles, low hurdles. |
| 3. | any of various vertical barriers, as a hedge, low wall, or section of fence, over which horses must jump in certain types of turf races, as a steeplechase, but esp. an artificial barrier. |
| 4. | a difficult problem to be overcome; obstacle. |
| 5. | Chiefly British. a movable rectangular frame of interlaced twigs, crossed bars, or the like, as for a temporary fence. |
| 6. | a frame or sled on which criminals, esp. traitors, were formerly drawn to the place of execution. |
–verb (used with object)
| 7. | to leap over (a hurdle, barrier, fence, etc.), as in a race. |
| 8. | to master (a difficulty, problem, etc.); overcome. |
| 9. | to construct with hurdles; enclose with hurdles. |
–verb (used without object)
| 10. | to leap over a hurdle or other barrier. |
Origin:
bef. 900; ME hirdel, hurdel (n.), OE hyrdel, equiv. to hyrd- + -el n. suffix; cf. G Hürde hurdle; akin to L crātis hurdle, wickerwork, Gk kýrtos basket, cage, Skt kṛt spin
bef. 900; ME hirdel, hurdel (n.), OE hyrdel, equiv. to hyrd- + -el n. suffix; cf. G Hürde hurdle; akin to L crātis hurdle, wickerwork, Gk kýrtos basket, cage, Skt kṛt spin
Related forms:
hurdler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To hurdle
| hur·dle (hûr'dl) n.
v. tr.
To leap over a barrier or other obstacle. [Middle English hurdel, portable panel for temporary fences, from Old English hyrdel.] hur'dler n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Hurdle
Hur"dle\, n. [OE. hurdel, hirdel, AS. hyrdel; akin to D. horde, OHG. hurt, G. h["u]rde a hurdle, fold, pen, Icel. hur? door, Goth. ha['u]rds, L. cratis wickerwork, hurdle, Gr. ?, Skr. k?t to spin, c?t to bind, connect. [root]16. Cf. Crate, Grate, n.]1. A movable frame of wattled twigs, osiers, or withes and stakes, or sometimes of iron, used for inclosing land, for folding sheep and cattle, for gates, etc.; also, in fortification, used as revetments, and for other purposes. 2. In England, a sled or crate on which criminals were formerly drawn to the place of execution. --Bacon. 3. An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which men or horses leap in a race. Hurdle race, a race in which artificial barriers in the form of hurdles, fences, etc., must be leaped.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : hurdle
Spanish:
valla,
German:
die Hürde,
Japanese:
ハードル
hurdle
O.E. hyrdel "frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier," dim. of hyrd "door," from P.Gmc. *khurdis (cf. Ger. Hürde "hurdle, fold, pen;" O.N. hurð, Goth. haurds "door"), from PIE *krtis (cf. L. cratis "hurdle, wickerwork," Gk. kartalos "a kind of basket," kyrtos "fishing creel"), from base *qrt- "to weave, twist together" (cf. Skt. krt "to spin"). Sense of "barrier to jump in a race" first recorded 1833; figurative sense of "obstacle" is 1924.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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