fair, white, Welsh gwynn; e.g. Findrum (white ridge); Fionn-uisge (the clear water). The Phœnix Park, in Dublin, was so called from a beautiful spring well on the grounds; Findlater (the fair slope, leiter); Fingart (fair field); Finnow, Finnan, and Finglass (fair stream); Finglen (fair glen); Knockfin (fair hill); Loch Fyne (clear or beautiful lake); Fintray, in Aberdeenshire; Fintry, in Stirling (fair strand, traigh); Ventry, Co. Kerry, i.e. Fionn-traigh (fair strand); Finnow (the fair stream).
FIORD, or FJORD (Scand.),
a creek or inlet formed by an arm of the sea, Anglicised ford, or in Scotland firth; e.g. Selfiord (herring creek); Laxfiord (salmon creek); Hvalfiord (whale creek); Lymefiord (muddy creek); Skagafiord (the inlet of the promontory, skagi); Halsfiord (the bay of the neck or hals, i.e. the narrow passage); Waterford, named by the Danes Vadre-fiord (the fordable part of the bay)—the Irish name of the town was Port-lairge (the port of the thigh), from its form; Wexford (the western creek or inlet), also named by the Danes Flekkefiord (the flat inlet)—its Irish name was Inverslanie (at the mouth of the Slaney); Strangford Lough (i.e. the loch of the strong fiord); Carlingford, in Irish Caerlinn, the fiord having been added by the Danes; Vaeringefiord, in Norway (the inlet of the Varangians or Warings); Breidafiord (broad inlet), in Ireland; Haverford, probably from Scand. havre (oats).
FLECKE (Teut. and Scand.),
a spot or level place, hence a hamlet; e.g. Flegg, East and West, in Norfolk; Fleckney (the flat island); Fletton (flat town); Pfaffenfleck (the priest’s hamlet); Amtsfleck (the amptman’s hamlet); Schœnfleck (beautiful hamlet); Marktflecten (the market village); Fladda, Flatholme, Fleckeroe (flat island); Fladstrand (flat strand).
FLEOT, FLIEZ (Teut.),
VLIET (Dutch),
a flush of water, a channel or arm of the sea on which vessels may float; e.g. Fleet (a river name), in Kirkcudbright; Fleet Loch; Swinefleet (Sweyn’s channel); Saltfleetby (the dwelling on the salt water channel); Shalfleet (shallow channel); Depenfleth (deep channel); Adlingfleet (the channel of the Atheling or noble); Ebbfleet, a place which was a port in the twelfth century, but is now half a mile from the shore; Purfleet, Co. Essex, anc. Pourteflete (the channel of the port); Fleetwood (the wood on the channel of the R. Wyre); Mühlfloss (mill channel); Flushing, in Holland, corrupt. from Vliessengen (the town on the channel of the R. Scheldt). In Normandy this kind of channel takes the form of fleur, e.g. Barfleur (the summit or projection on the channel); Harfleur or Havrefleur (the harbour on the channel); Biervliet (the fruitful plain on the channel). Flad as a prefix sometimes signifies a place liable to be flooded, as Fladbury, Fledborough. The Lat. flumen (a flowing stream) is akin to these words, along with its derivations in the Romance languages: thus Fiume (on the river), a seaport in Croatia, at the mouth of the R. Fiumara; Fiumicina, a small seaport at the north mouth of the Tiber; Fiume-freddo (the cold stream), in Italy and Sicily; Flims, in Switzerland, Lat. Ad-flumina (at the streams); Fiume-della Fine, near Leghorn, is a corrupt. of its ancient name, Ad-Fines (the river at the boundary).
FÖLD (Hung.),
land; e.g. Földvar (land fortress); Alfold (low land); Felföld (high land); Szekel-föld (the land of the Szeklers); Havasel-föld (the land beyond the mountains), which is the Hungarian name for Wallachia.
FONS (Lat.),
FONTE (It. and Port.),
FONT, FONTAINE (Fr.),
FUENTE, and HONTANA (Span.),
FUARAN and UARAN (Gadhelic),
FFYNNON (Cym.-Cel.),