course

pronunciation

How to pronounce course in British English: UK [kɔːs] word uk audio image

How to pronounce course in American English: US [kɔːrs] word us audio image

Noun:

education imparted in a series of lessons or class meetings
a connected series of events or actions or developments
facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water laid out for a sport
a mode of action
a line or route along which something travels or moves
general line of orientation
part of a meal served at one time
(construction) a layer of masonry
Verb:

move swiftly through or over
move along, of liquids
hunt with hounds
Adverb:

as might be expected

Word Origin

course: course: [13] Etymologically, course denotes ‘running’. It comes via Old French cours from Latin cursus, a derivative of the verb currere ‘run’ (from which English gets current and a wide range of other words, from courier to occur). Its earliest meaning in English was ‘onward movement in a particular direction’, but over the centuries it has developed a network of additional senses.From the same Latin base curs- are concourse [14], cursory [17] (from Latin cursōrius), discourse [14] (and the related discursive [16]), excursion [16], incursion [15], precursor [16], and recourse [14]. The derived noun courser [13] is a doublet of corsair.=> corsair, courier, current, discourse, excursion, occur

course (n.): late 13c., "onward movement," from Old French cors (12c.) "course; run, running; flow of a river," from Latin cursus "a running race or course," from curs- past participle stem of currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). Most extended senses (meals, etc.) are present in 14c. Academic meaning "planned series of study" is c. 1600 (in French from 14c.). Phrase of course is attested from 1540s; literally "of the ordinary course;" earlier in same sense was bi cours (c. 1300).