fjǫrðr

Forms

fjǫrðr m (genitive fjarðar, dative firði, plural firðir) (strong u-stem)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Norse *ᚠᛖᚱᚦᚢᛉ (*ferþuʀ),^[1][2] from Proto-Germanic *ferþuz (“inlet”).^[1] Kroonen and Orel take it as the full grade of the noun behind Old English ford and Old High German furt (“ford”), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), which also gave Latin portus (“harbour”) and Avestan pərətu- (“ford, bridge”).^[3][4][2] The root is Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to cross, pass over”), that of fara “to go” and ferð “journey”, and the first meaning was a crossing place, where one had to ferry over.^[2][5][1]

The ⟨jǫ⟩ is the u-breaking of ⟨e⟩, while the plural ⟨firðir⟩ has the ⟨e⟩ i-umlauted instead, and the genitive ⟨fjarðar⟩ the a-breaking.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Menota's first record is in the Legendary Saga of St Olaf, DG 8 II, of 1225–1250, with fiorðr and fiorðenn.^[7] ONP's first dated record is the law code Grágás of 1250, in the sense “fjord”: þar er firþir ero fyrir eða sund. þa scal boaɴdiɴ fa þeim scip “where there are fjords or sounds in the way, the farmer shall get them a ship”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word names a long inlet of the sea;^[9] Cleasby and Vigfússon contrast it with vík, a small curved bay, citing the saying fjǫrðr milli frænda, en vík milli vina.^[9] A second, rarer sense is open water: Fritzner cites it for lakes formed where rivers widen, still Norwegian usage.^[8][10] The phrase fjall eða fjǫrðr “mountain or fjord” is a fixed pair in the laws, which lead ONP's record.^[8]

It continues as Icelandic fjörður, Norwegian Nynorsk fjord and Swedish fjärd.^[2][5] The English word firth is a Scottish borrowing of the early 15th century, and fjord a later one from Norwegian, of the 1670s.^[11]

Timeline

• 1225–1250 – fiorðr in the Legendary Saga of St Olaf, DG 8 II.^[7]
• 1250 – firþir “fjords” in Grágás.^[8]
• 1270 – the sense “open water”, figuratively, in Pamphilus.^[8]
• 1275 – the phrase fjall eða fjǫrðr in the Gulathing law.^[8]
• early 15th century – Scottish English firth, from the Norse noun.^[11]
• 1670s – English fjord, from Norwegian.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. a fjord, inlet, firth.^[8][12]
2. an expanse of open water, also a lake.^[8][10]

Word family

• fjarðarbotn
• fjarðarhorn
• Firðir
• eyðifjǫrðr
• leynifjǫrðr

Descendants

• Icelandic fjörður^[1]
• Faroese fjørður^[1]
• Norn fjord^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk fjord^[1]
• Old Swedish fiorþer^[1]
• Swedish fjord^[1]
• Old Danish fiorth^[1]
• Danish fjord^[1]
• Middle English fyrth (→ English firth)^[1][11]

Related words

• fara
• ferð
• ferja

Usage notes

It is common in Icelandic and Scandinavian place names, and coastal districts in Iceland are named after their fjords, as Eyjafjǫrðr and Skagafjǫrðr; the west and east of Iceland are the Vestfirðir and Austfirðir, and a Norwegian district was called Firðir.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. fjörður
3. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 160
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 119
5. ^ a b c Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. fjord
6. ^ Noreen, Adolf (1923), Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik, 4th ed., Halle, p. § 92
7. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. DG 8 II
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. fjǫrðr
9. ^ a b c Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 158
10. ^ a b Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. fjörðr
11. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. fjörðr