hurdle

Definition

An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.

Etymology

] From Middle English hurdel, hirdel, herdel, hyrdel, from Old English hyrdel (“frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier”), diminutive of *hyrd, from Proto-Germanic *hurdiz, from Pre-Germanic *kr̥h₂tis, from Proto-Indo-European *kreh₂-. Cognate with Dutch horde, German Hürde.

Example Sentences

• "He ran in the 100 metres hurdles."
• "My last stop was an outdoor speech to a huge crowd of Ukrainians whom I urged to stay on the course of freedom and economic reform. Kiev was beautiful in the late spring sunshine, and I hoped its people could keep up the high spirits I had observed in the crowd. They still had many hurdles to clear."
• "The practice of folding sheep was general, and the purchase of hurdles was a regular charge in the shepherd's account."