firth

Meaning

An arm or inlet of the sea; a river estuary.

Synonyms

estuary

fiord

fjord

branching bay

drowned river mouth

bay

estuary firth

harbor

liman

Translations

Fjord

fiordo

Meeresarm

ría

Ästuar

fiordo

bracchium

estuario

εκβολή

haliç

Förde

estuaire

estuario

φιόρδ

στενός κόλπος

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fɜːθ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: fyrth

Inherited from Old English: ford

Inherited from Old English: fyrhþe

In summary

Borrowed from Scots firth, furth, from Northern Middle English fyrth, from either or both of Old English ford and Old Norse fjǫrðr (“firth, fjord”), from Proto-Germanic *ferþu, *ferþuz (“inlet, fjord”), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to carry forth”) + *-tus (suffix forming action nouns from verb roots). The English word is a doublet of fjord, ford, port, and fjard.