What does coursing mean?
Coursing is a noun referring chiefly to an ancient field sport in which dogs — traditionally greyhounds or other sighthounds — chase hares or similar quarry by sight rather than scent, testing the dogs' speed and agility across open ground. Practiced in Europe and beyond for centuries, it became formalized in Britain with rules, prizes, and famous events such as the Waterloo Cup. Because of animal-welfare concerns, hare coursing has been outlawed in much of Great Britain, though the word persists in legal, sporting, and historical contexts. Separately, coursing serves as the present-participle form of the verb 'to course', describing anything that moves swiftly and continuously along a path — blood coursing through veins, tears coursing down a face, rivers coursing toward the sea. Both senses share the same root idea: rapid, directed movement in pursuit or passage.
The sport of hunting hares or other game with sighthounds that pursue by sight rather than scent.
"Greyhound coursing was once among the most popular spectator sports in rural England."
Often modified as 'hare coursing'; now largely historical in Great Britain due to hunting bans.
Swift, continuous movement or flow along a course, typically used of liquids, light, or emotion (as the -ing form of the verb 'course').
"He could feel adrenaline coursing through his body before the race."
Hare coursing is one of the oldest organized sports in Britain — so old that its rules were codified in the 16th century, long before football had official laws.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coursing
Coursing derives from the verb 'course', which entered Middle English from Old French 'cours' (a running, a race), ultimately from Latin 'cursus', meaning 'a running' — the past participle stem of 'currere', 'to run'. The sporting sense of setting dogs to chase hares by sight developed in English by the late medieval period, and the word has carried that meaning ever since. It shares its Latin ancestor with a family of movement words including 'cursor', 'courier', 'corridor', and 'current'.
Related word forms
How coursing is actually used
As the name of the dog sport, 'coursing' is now strongly associated with British rural tradition and is controversial because of animal-welfare concerns; hare coursing has been banned under hunting legislation in Great Britain (2004) and is restricted elsewhere. The verbal sense describing liquid or emotion 'coursing' through or down something is common in literary and descriptive prose.
Easily confused with coursing
Coercion means compelling someone by force or threats, whereas coursing refers to a pursuit sport with sight-hunting dogs or to swift movement.