ˈrace-course
[f. race n.1 + course.]
1. a. A piece of ground laid out with a track for horse-racing.
| 1764 in Fletcher St. Leger (1902) 32 That the Corporation raise the sum of {pstlg}50 to be run for upon Doncaster Race Course. 1828 Darvill Treat. Race-horse xi. 253 Race⁓courses..are sometimes made in the form of the figure 8. 1835 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XI. 624/1 The nature and form of race-courses. 1863 Sat. Rev. 23 May 656 Those who knew no more than had been seen on race-courses. |
| attrib. 1896 A. Morrison Child of the Jago 114 A race⁓course adventure involving bodily risk. |
b. The course for a boat-race.
| 1866 ‘Argonaut’ Rowing & Training 57 The usual length of racecourses for eights, and all other descriptions of boats, varies from 11/4 to 23/4 miles. |
2. Weaving. A shuttle-race.
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1285 The weaver..sheds the warp..and opens a pathway or race-course for the shuttle to traverse the middle of the warp. |
3. A water-way, mill-race.
| 1841 S. C. Brees Gloss. Civil Eng. 192 Race, or Race Course, the cut or canal along which the water is conveyed to and from a water-wheel. |
4. Building. ? A string-course.
| 1883 Margerison Calverley Registers II. 23 The old race⁓course,..seen on the tower wall inside the church. |