course
The way you're headed, or the path you take.
Updated September 21, 2026
course pronunciation
/KORS/
Meaning
In rural Southern talk, course is the direction or route you're on. Change course and you turn. Hold your course and you keep going the same way through the field, the holler, or the two-lane. Hunters and farmers use it for which way the game ran or which line cuts across the pasture. It is plain English that lives hard in country directions because folks navigate by landmarks and feel, not street numbers.
How folks use it
- “Deer took a different course through the thicket after that shot.”
- “Hold your course till you hit the creek, then cut left toward the barn.”
Origin and etymology
Old English and nautical English both used course for a path of travel. American rural speech kept that sense for land routes and heading. It is not a weird invented slang word so much as everyday directional talk that fits redneck navigation: which way, which path, which line across the land.
Frequently asked questions
Is course the same as of course?
No. Of course means "obviously." Plain course here means direction or route.