ford English · revision 4825

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 893|origins=ine-pro *prtu-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /fɔːd/, US /fɔːrd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|ford]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*furdu-]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*prtu-|t=a going, a passage]],^(Etymonline) from the root *per- “to lead, pass over”.^(Etymonline) Old Frisian forda, Old High German furt (German Furt) and Old Norse fjǫrðr are related,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and outside Germanic Welsh rhyd and Latin portus “harbour”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) English [[fare]], [[ferry]], [[fjord]] and [[port]] share the root.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A shallow place where a river or other water can be crossed by wading or riding: about 893 in the OED, in Alfred's translation of Orosius.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) It is common in place-names such as Oxford and Hartford.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In poetry it could mean a stream or current (1563), now obsolete,^(OED 1989) and in Westmorland dialect an arm of the sea.^(Wright 1898) The verb, to cross water at a ford, is from 1614 in the OED and MWU,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the 1610s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 893 – a shallow crossing place.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1563 – poetic, a stream.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1614 – verb, to wade across.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1914 – Ford, the car.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A shallow place in a [[river]] or [[stream]] where people, animals or vehicles can cross.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cross a river or stream at a shallow place.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fordable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fare]]

+ * [[ferry]]

+ * [[fjord]]

+ * [[port]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The Ford car (1914 in the OED) is named after the American manufacturer Henry Ford.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}