Coursing

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The pursuit of game typically involves tracking scents while also reflecting the flow of water dynamics in rivers and streams, including training methods for hunting dogs through scent recognition and chasing
2. Engaging in the act of tracking animals often highlights the movement of water in aquatic environments, along with techniques used in training hunting dogs by following scents and pursuing targets
3. The act of following or chasing an animal, usually by scent or visual tracking ; characterized by rapid or smooth movement, especially of water or liquid

Etymology: Coursing is the ongoing form of "course" used as a verb, and it names a hunting method: greyhounds chase a hare across open ground, relying on sight rather than scent. The verb's roots are in running. Latin "currere" meant "to run," and its noun "cursus" meant "course of a race," the path a runner or chariot followed. That noun passed into Old French as "cours," and English borrowed it in the Middle Ages as "cours," which later became "course." The word therefore began as a verb of motion before it acquired its sporting sense. The idea of a track followed to a finish gave English its many later uses, from a route of travel to a sequence of lessons, while "coursing" kept the original image of pursuit at speed. Coursing is a doublet of "cursus" and "cour," meaning these words share a single origin but entered English by different routes.

Synonyms: running, flowing