Etymograph

English

ford

Ford comes from Old English ford, from Proto-Germanic *furduz, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus ‘crossing’, from *per- ‘to fare, cross’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to fare, cross’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pértus1‘crossing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furduz1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*furdu1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ford1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fōrd1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1590ford1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ford
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VI: “With water of the ford / Or of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, English ford‘to fare, cross’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pértusWiktionary, English ford‘crossing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furduzWiktionary, English fordreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*furduWiktionary, English fordreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150fordWiktionary, English ford
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fōrdWiktionary, English ford
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1590fordWiktionary, English ford. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VI: “With water of the ford / Or of the…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with ford, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *per-

  • first ← fyrest ← *furist ← *furistaz ← *furai
  • far ← ferre ← *ferrai ← *per-nóy
  • per
  • before ← before//bifore ← beforan ← foran ← *furai
  • further ← forþor ← *furþer
  • support ← supporten ← supporter ← supportō ← portō
  • price ← pris ← pretium ← *pretjom ← *pr-é-ti ~ *pr-ó-ti
  • private ← privat ← prīvātus ← prīvō ← prīvus
  • press ← presse ← pressa ← presser ← pressāre
  • practice
  • report ← reporten ← reporter ← reportāre ← porto
  • fear ← feer ← fǣr ← *fērō

195 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun 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; a crossing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ford”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *per- / ford