From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
course
adv 1: as might be expected; "naturally, the lawyer sent us a
huge bill" [syn: naturally, of course, course]
[ant: unnaturally]
n 1: education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings; "he
took a course in basket weaving"; "flirting is not unknown
in college classes" [syn: course, course of study,
course of instruction, class]
2: a connected series of events or actions or developments; "the
government took a firm course"; "historians can only point
out those lines for which evidence is available" [syn:
course, line]
3: general line of orientation; "the river takes a southern
course"; "the northeastern trend of the coast" [syn:
course, trend]
4: a mode of action; "if you persist in that course you will
surely fail"; "once a nation is embarked on a course of
action it becomes extremely difficult for any retraction to
take place" [syn: course, course of action]
5: a line or route along which something travels or moves; "the
hurricane demolished houses in its path"; "the track of an
animal"; "the course of the river" [syn: path, track,
course]
6: a body of students who are taught together; "early morning
classes are always sleepy" [syn: class, form, grade,
course]
7: part of a meal served at one time; "she prepared a three
course meal"
8: (construction) a layer of masonry; "a course of bricks" [syn:
course, row]
9: facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water
laid out for a sport; "the course had only nine holes"; "the
course was less than a mile"
v 1: move swiftly through or over; "ships coursing the Atlantic"
2: move along, of liquids; "Water flowed into the cave"; "the
Missouri feeds into the Mississippi" [syn: run, flow,
feed, course]
3: hunt with hounds; "He often courses hares"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Course \Course\ (k[=o]rs), n. [F. cours, course, L. cursus, fr.
currere to run. See Current.]
1. The act of moving from one point to another; progress;
passage.
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And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we
came to Ptolemais. --Acts xxi. 7.
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2. The ground or path traversed; track; way.
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The same horse also run the round course at
Newmarket. --Pennant.
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3. Motion, considered as to its general or resultant
direction or to its goal; line progress or advance.
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A light by which the Argive squadron steers
Their silent course to Ilium's well known shore.
--Dennham.
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Westward the course of empire takes its way.
--Berkeley.
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4. Progress from point to point without change of direction;
any part of a progress from one place to another, which is
in a straight line, or on one direction; as, a ship in a
long voyage makes many courses; a course measured by a
surveyor between two stations; also, a progress without
interruption or rest; a heat; as, one course of a race.
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5. Motion considered with reference to manner; or derly
progress; procedure in a certain line of thought or
action; as, the course of an argument.
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The course of true love never did run smooth.
--Shak.
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6. Customary or established sequence of events; recurrence of
events according to natural laws.
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By course of nature and of law. --Davies.
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Day and night,
Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost,
Shall hold their course. --Milton.
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7. Method of procedure; manner or way of conducting; conduct;
behavior.
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My lord of York commends the plot and the general
course of the action. --Shak.
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By perseverance in the course prescribed.
--Wodsworth.
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You hold your course without remorse. --Tennyson.
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8. A series of motions or acts arranged in order; a
succession of acts or practices connectedly followed; as,
a course of medicine; a course of lectures on chemistry.
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9. The succession of one to another in office or duty; order;
turn.
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He appointed . . . the courses of the priests --2
Chron. viii.
14.
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10. That part of a meal served at one time, with its
accompaniments.
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He [Goldsmith] wore fine clothes, gave dinners of
several courses, paid court to venal beauties.
--Macaulay.
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11. (Arch.) A continuous level range of brick or stones of
the same height throughout the face or faces of a
building. --Gwilt.
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12. (Naut.) The lowest sail on any mast of a square-rigged
vessel; as, the fore course, main course, etc.
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13. pl. (Physiol.) The menses.
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In course, in regular succession.
Of course, by consequence; as a matter of course; in
regular or natural order.
In the course of, at same time or times during. "In the
course of human events." --T. Jefferson.
Syn: Way; road; route; passage; race; series; succession;
manner; method; mode; career; progress.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Course \Course\, v. i.
1. To run as in a race, or in hunting; to pursue the sport of
coursing; as, the sportsmen coursed over the flats of
Lancashire.
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2. To move with speed; to race; as, the blood courses through
the veins. --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Course \Course\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Coursed (k?rst)); p. pr.
& vb. n. Coursing.]
1. To run, hunt, or chase after; to follow hard upon; to
pursue.
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We coursed him at the heels. --Shak.
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2. To cause to chase after or pursue game; as, to course
greyhounds after deer.
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3. To run through or over.
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The bounding steed courses the dusty plain. --Pope.
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