{"id":24711,"date":"2026-08-14T15:20:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/?p=24711"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:24:01","slug":"fording-fjord-ports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/?p=24711","title":{"rendered":"Fording Fjord Ports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are the words <strong>ford<\/strong>, <strong>fjord<\/strong> and <strong>port<\/strong> related? Let&#8217;s find out.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/croydonclicker\/52759659620\/in\/photolist-2nDW6xf-2kTamVB-SksNaz-2T72wk-RY5UQm-2kimXMj-Mu4TBC-2ooc3FN-2oPLGa4-2hA7Qpz-2kDZ6yf-LXJ8iV-2oMQrSK-2ooLAHY-2hcuQz4-2g7rxzw-2mZ2j1y-2nqj4T1-2iViL6B-2giqkS7-2kNjCJj-2jxcrnt-2cEyHon-2obAX5Y-2snHzVe-2nrypTS-2kp5izD-2oK36zC-2k15vkv-2jotT3u-2gk96Hr-2nKohie-2mzCVEY-2aJnsa7-2gy99nR-2rp4YPW-2rVPYx5-2oi4bQ4-2nXryEG-2nk1RVD-2kCsSCW-2nKkjhE-2qVXbCS-2nBLK7d-2rK1rMw-2iViLjY-2oSidC7-2nqxqij-2rbyE6a-2r1uTdD\" title=\"Eynsford\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/52759659620_26ca308274_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" alt=\"Eynsford\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>ford<\/strong> [f\u0254\u02d0d \/ f\u0254\u0279d] is a location where a stream is shallow and the bottom has good footing, making it possible to cross from one side to the other with no bridge, by walking, riding, or driving through the water.<\/p>\n<p>It comes from Middle English <em>f\u014drd<\/em> (ford, watering place, a spring, passage, path), from Old English <em>ford<\/em> (ford), from Proto-West Germanic <em>*furdu<\/em> (ford), from Proto-Germanic <em>*furduz<\/em> (ford), from Proto-Indo-European <em>*p\u00e9rtus<\/em> (crossing) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/ford#English\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p>Words from the same Proto-Germanic root include <strong>F\u00f6rde<\/strong> (firth, fjord) and <strong>Furt<\/strong> (ford) in German, <strong>voorde<\/strong> (ford) in Dutch, <strong>ffordd<\/strong> (road, distance, way) in Welsh, and <strong>fordh<\/strong> (road, way, manner) in Cornish [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic\/furduz\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jibees\/1441940241\/in\/photolist-3cqjAD-p7xba4-p7wSDy-6pQVoK-8Hc7rR-bqLqHZ-p7vXu8-3URsv-frLQox-kk5Zr-karZP-2mRNcMJ-poJPRH-2jHUfpb-2nHXJZM-VzHSnb-V89uJK-f9rQP-25Sy7vA-Xh9wD9-XhaWaq-WK5w4Q-W5dxbb-X939zp-W5c5F9-XhaAcj-jCv4mY-oqsGpx-pp26TV-XhaYmu-pp28oD-X6bAKy-X8ZXci-Qmdd4q-Xm6Uzz-W5dQ75-aoynFU-X6bPSq-X93gAZ-2jHYFgB-aovDuK-X6bhE5-XhbnKd-WK58rL-pp26NV-poZwro-Xm6Ebz-Xm6ucB-WK5s4A-Xm6DdT\" title=\"Fjords (61)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/1010\/1441940241_084421b843_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Fjords (61)\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>fjord<\/strong> [\u02c8fi\u02d0\u0254\u02d0d \/ fi\u02c8\u0254\u0279d] is a long, narrow, deep inlet between cliffs, and was borrowed from Norwegian.<\/p>\n<p>The Norwegian word <em>fjord<\/em> [fju\u02d0r] comes from Old Norse <em>fj\u01ebr\u00f0r<\/em> (firth, fjord), from Proto-Germanic <em>*fer\u00feu(z)<\/em> (inlet, fjord), from Proto-Indo-European <em>*p\u00e9rtus<\/em> (crossing) &#8211; so the same PIE root as <strong>ford<\/strong>, but a different Proto-Germanic root [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/fjord#English\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p>Words from the same Proto-Germanic root include <strong>fj\u00f6r\u00f0ur<\/strong> (fjord) in Icelandic, <strong>fj\u00f8r\u00f0ur<\/strong> (fjord, firth) in Faroese, <strong>fjord<\/strong> (firth, fjord, inlet) in Danish, and <strong>firth<\/strong> (an arm or inlet of the sea; a river estuary) in English [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic\/fer%C3%BEuz\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/omniglot\/55463513073\/in\/datetaken\" title=\"Y Felinheli \/ Port Dinorwic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55463513073_d45616a838_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Y Felinheli \/ Port Dinorwic\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Meanings of <strong>port<\/strong> [p\u0254\u02d0t \/ po\u0279t] include: a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers; a town or city containing such a place, and the left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when one is facing the front.<\/p>\n<p>It comes from Middle English <em>port<\/em> (harbour, haven), from Old English <em>port<\/em> (port, harbour, haven, town, harbour town), from Latin <em>portus<\/em> (harbour, port, haven, refuge, warehouse), from Proto-Italic <em>*portus<\/em> (harbour), from Proto-Indo-European <em>*p\u00e9rtus<\/em> (crossing) &#8211; so the same PIE root as <strong>ford<\/strong> and <strong>fjord<\/strong> [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/port#English\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p>Words from the same PIE root include <strong>porto<\/strong> (port, harbour) in Italian, <strong>puerto<\/strong> (port, harbour) in Spanish, <strong>port<\/strong> (port) in French, and <strong>port<\/strong> (harbour, port, river bank, mound, refuge, haven) in Irish, <strong>porth<\/strong> (port, harbour, haven, estuary, landing-place) in Welsh and <strong>\u067e\u0644<\/strong> (pul &#8211; bridge, sound post) in Persian [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European\/p%C3%A9rtus\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Blog horizontal --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"1685480124\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are the words ford, fjord and port related? Let&#8217;s find out. A ford [f\u0254\u02d0d \/ f\u0254\u0279d] is a location where a stream is shallow and the bottom has good footing, making it possible to cross from one side to the other with no bridge, by walking, riding, or driving through the water. It comes from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,100,102,104,107,108,111,116,124,127,128,10,15,26,33,36,37,44,45,46,202,64,77],"tags":[164,158,680,679,678,138,281,677,163],"class_list":["post-24711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cornish","category-danish","category-dutch","category-english","category-etymology","category-faroese","category-french","category-german","category-icelandic","category-irish","category-italian","category-language","category-latin","category-middle-english","category-old-english-aenglisc","category-old-norse","category-persian-farsi","category-proto-germanic","category-proto-indo-european","category-proto-italic","category-proto-west-germanic","category-spanish","category-welsh","tag-english","tag-etymology","tag-firth","tag-fjord","tag-ford","tag-language","tag-omniglot","tag-port","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24711"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24716,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24711\/revisions\/24716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}