courser

¹

[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]

noun

1. a person or thing that courses; hunter.
2. a dog for coursing.

courser

²

[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]

noun

, Literary.

1. a swift horse.

courser

³

[ kawr-ser, kohr- ]

noun

1. any of several swift-footed, ploverlike birds of the genera Cursorius and Pluvianus, chiefly of the desert regions of Asia and Africa.

courser

¹

/ ˈkɔːsə /

noun

1. a terrestrial plover-like shore bird, such as Cursorius cursor (cream-coloured courser), of the subfamily Cursoriinae of desert and semidesert regions of the Old World: family Glareolidae, order Charadriiformes

courser

²

/ ˈkɔːsə /

noun

1. a person who courses hounds or dogs, esp greyhounds
2. a hound or dog trained for coursing

courser

³

/ ˈkɔːsə /

noun

1. literary.
   a swift horse; steed

Word History and Origins

Origin of courser¹

First recorded in 1585–95; course + -er ¹

Origin of courser²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English courser, coursier, courcer, from Old French coursier, cursier, corsier, from unattested Vulgar Latin cursārius, equivalent to Latin curs(us) “running, race” + -ārius suffix forming adjectives and nouns; course, -ary; -er ²

Origin of courser³

First recorded in 1800–10; irregularly formed from New Latin cursōrius “fitted for running,” equivalent to Latin cur(rere) “to run” + -sōrius, for -tōrius -tory ¹; course

Word History and Origins

Origin of courser¹

C18: from Latin cursōrius suited for running, from cursus course

Origin of courser²

C13: from Old French coursier, from cours course

Example Sentences

He is hot on the trail of the Jerdon’s courser, a critically endangered nocturnal bird that has not been officially spotted for about a decade.

From Scientific American

"I think we're unfortunately in a courser environment. I think our societies have become harder and less understanding, less tolerant, less forgiving."

From Fox News

Police say the vehicles belonged to “hare coursers” who used dogs to chase down and capture rabbits, a practice that’s illegal in England.

From Fox News

A group of suspected hare coursers had to swim to safety after falling foul of a flood-prone stretch of road.

From BBC

Sgt Tom Carter, of Sussex Police's rural crime unit, said the crackdown on hare coursing in the UK meant some hare coursers were going abroad, holding events and streaming footage back to the UK.

From BBC