Hurdle
Hurdle , noun
[Old English hurdel, hirdel, Anglo-Saxon hyrdel; akin to Dutch horde, Old High German hurt, German hurde a hurdle, fold, pen, Icelandic hur{not transcribed} door, Gothic haúrds, Latin cratis wickerwork, hurdle, Greek {not transcribed}, Sanskrit k{not transcribed}t to spin, c{not transcribed}t to bind, connect. r16. Compare Crate, Grate, n.]
1.
A movable frame of wattled twigs, osiers, or withes and stakes, or sometimes of iron, used for inclosing land, for folding sheep and cattle, for gates, etc.; also, in fortification, used as revetments, and for other purposes.
2.
In England, a sled or crate on which criminals were formerly drawn to the place of execution. — Bacon
3.
An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which men or horses leap in a race.
Collocations (1)
Hurdle race , a race in which artificial barriers in the form of hurdles, fences, etc., must be leaped.
Hurdle , transitive verb
To hedge, cover, make, or inclose with hurdles. — Milton