contracted from the French La fermeté, from the Lat. firmitas (strength), applied in topography to a stronghold; e.g. La Ferté Bernardi (Bernard’s stronghold); Ferté-freshal, from Firmitas Fraxinelli (the stronghold of little ash-trees); La Ferté, in Nièvre and in Jura, etc.
FESTE (Ger.),
VESTING (Dutch),
FAESTUNG (Scand.),
a fortress; e.g. Altefeste (high fortress); Franzenfeste (the fortress of the Franks); Festenburg (the town of the fortress); Ivanich-festung (John’s fortress), in Croatia.
FEUCHT (Ger.),
VOICHTIG (Dutch),
moist, marshy; e.g. Feuchtwang (the marshy field), in Bavaria, formerly called Hudropolis, in Greek, with the same meaning; Feucht (the damp place), also in Bavaria; Viecht-gross and Viecht-klein (the great and little damp place), in Bavaria.
LES FÈVES (Fr.),
beans, Lat. faba, from which come such places in France as La Favière, Favières, Faverage, Favray, Faverelles, etc.
FICHTE (Ger.),
the pine-tree; e.g. Schoenfichten (the beautiful pine-trees); Finsterfechten (the dark pine-trees); Fichthorst (pine-wood); Feichheim (a dwelling among pines). In topography, however, it is difficult to distinguish this word from feucht (damp).
FIN, FIONN (Gadhelic),