Meaning

noun a light movable barrier that competitors must leap over in certain races

noun an obstacle that you are expected to overcome

noun the act of jumping over an obstacle

origin] From Middle English hurdel, hirdel, herdel, hyrdel, from Old English hyrdel (“frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier”), diminutive of *hyrd, from Proto-Germanic *hurdiz, from Pre-Germanic *kr̥h₂tis, from Proto-Indo-European *kreh₂-. Cognate with Dutch horde, German Hürde.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0