Etymograph

English

firth

Firth comes from Scots firth, and goes back to Northern Middle English fyrth.

  1. Northern Middle Englishmodernfyrth1
  2. Scotsc. 1450–presentfirth1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1947firth1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English firth
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1947, and February, "The Aberdonian" in Wartime: “The descent continues, still more steeply to Dundee (Tay…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Northern Middle EnglishmodernfyrthWiktionary, English firth
  2. Scotsc. 1450–presentfirthWiktionary, English firth
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1947firthWiktionary, English firth. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1947, and February, "The Aberdonian" in Wartime: “The descent continues, still more steeply to Dundee (Tay…”

The story

The English word is a doublet of fjord, ford, port, and fjard.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to carry forth’

before, first, far, per, support, price, private, press, practice, report, fear, pre, primary, prior, further, prime, appreciate, prize, afford, pregnant, practical, transport, sport, importance, precious, praise, interpretation, privilege, parade, par, ferry, export, fare, porch, import, pardon, forth, primitive, prix, portable, 152 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pértus ‘crossing’

opportunity, port, fjord, 11 more

through Old English ford

ford

Another origin of firth

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perkʷ-‘oak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pérkus‘oak’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*furhu‘fir’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*furhiþi‘forest, woodland’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150fyrhþe‘forest, wooded country’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frith‘forest’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fyrthmetathetic variant of frith
  8. Englishtodayfirth

Today it means

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

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “firth”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Northern Middle English fyrth / firth

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