a fountain, a well; e.g. Fontainebleau, corrupt. from Fontaine-de-belle-eau (the spring of beautiful water); Fontenoy (the place of the fountain); Fontenay (the place of the fountain); Les Fontaines, Fontanas (the fountains); Fontenelles (the little fountains); Fontevrault, Lat. Fons-Ebraldi (the well of St. Evrault); Fuente (the fountain), the name of several towns in Spain; Fuencaliente (the warm fountain); Fuensagrada (holy well); Fuente-el-fresna (of the ash-tree); Fuente-alamo (of the poplar); Fontarabia, Span. Fuentarrabia, corrupt. from the Lat. Fons-rapidans (the swift-flowing spring); Fuenfrido (cold fountain); Fossano, in Italy, Lat. Fons-sanus (the healing fountain); Hontanas, Hontanares, Hontananza, Hontangas (the place of springs), in Spain; Hontomin (the fountain of the R. Omino), in Spain; Pinos-fuente (pine-tree fountain), in Granada; Saint-fontaine, in Belgium, corrupt. from Terra-de-centum fontanis (the land of the hundred springs); Spa, in Belgium, corrupt. from Espa (the fountain)—its Latin name was Fons-Tungrorum (the well of the Tungri); Fonthill (the hill of the spring). The town of Spalding, Co. Lincoln, is said to have derived its name from a spa of mineral water in the market-place. The Celtic uaran or fuaran takes the form of oran in Ireland: thus Oranmore (the great fountain near a holy well); Knock-an-oran (the hill of the well); Ballynoran (the town of the well); Tinoran, corrupt. from Tigh-an-uarain (the dwelling at the well); Foveran, in Aberdeenshire, took its name from a spring, fuaran, at Foveran Castle; Ffynon-Bed (St. Peter’s well), in Wales.
FORD (A.S.),
FURT, or FURTH (Ger.),
VOORD (Dutch),
a shallow passage over a river; e.g. Bradford (the broad ford), in Yorkshire, on the R. Aire; Bedford, Bedican ford (the protected ford), on the Ouse; Brentford, on the R. Brenta; Chelmsford, on the Chelmer; Camelford, on the Camel; Charford (the ford of Ceredic); Aylesford (of Ægle); Hacford and Hackfurth (of Haco); Guildford (of the guilds or trading associations); Hungerford, corrupt. from Ingle ford (corner ford); Oxford, Welsh Rhyd-ychen (ford for oxen); Ochsenfurt, in Bavaria, and probably the Bosphorus, with the same meaning; Hertford (the hart’s ford); Hereford (the ford of the army), or more probably a mistranslation of its Celtic name, Caer-ffawydd (the town of the beech-trees); Horsford, Illford, and Knutsford (the fords of Horsa, Ella, and Canute). Canute had crossed this ford before gaining a great battle; Watford (the ford on Watling Street); Milford, the translation of Rhyd-y-milwr (the ford of the Milwr), a small brook that flows into the haven; Haverford West—v. HAVN—the Welsh name is Hwlfford (the sailing way, fford), so called because the tide comes up to the town; Tiverton, anc. Twyford (the town on the two fords); Stamford, A.S. Stanford (stony ford), on the Welland; Stoney Stratford (the stony ford on the Roman road); Stafford, anc. Statford (the ford at the station, or a ford crossed by staffs or stilts); Crayford, on the R. Cray; but Crawford, in Lanarkshire, is corrupt. from Caerford (castle ford); Wallingford, anc. Gual-hen, Latinised Gallena (the old fort at the ford); Thetford, anc. Theodford (the people’s ford), on the R. Thet; Dartford, on the R. Darent; Bideford, in Devonshire (by the ford); Furth and Pforten (the fords), in Prussia; Erfurt, in Saxony, anc. Erpisford (the ford of Erpe); Hohenfurth (the high ford), Bohemia; Frankfort, on the Maine and on the Oder (the ford of the Franks); Quernfurt and Velvorde (the fords of the Rivers Quern and Wolowe); Steenvoord (stony ford); Verden, in Hanover (at the ford of the R. Aller).
FORS, FOSS (Scand.),
a waterfall; e.g. High-force, Low-force, on the R. Tees; Skogar-foss (the waterfall on the promontory), in Ireland; Wilberforce, in Yorkshire (the cascade of Wilbera); Sodorfors (the south cascade), in Sweden; Foston (the town of the waterfall).
FORST, VORST (Teut.),
a wood; e.g. Forst-lohn (the path through the wood); Forst-bach (forest brook); Eichenforst (oak forest); Forstheim (forest dwelling).
FORT,
a stronghold; from the Lat. fortis, strong—akin to the Irish Longphorth (a fortress), and the French La Ferté, abridged from fermeté—v. p. 79; e.g. Rochefort (the rock fortress); Fort Augustus, named after the Duke of Cumberland; Fort-George (after George II.); Fort-William, anc. Inverlochy (at the mouth of the lake), and surnamed after William III.; Fortrose (the fortress on the promontory); Fort-Louis, in Upper Rhine, founded and named by Louis XIV.; Charles-Fort, in Canada, named after Charles I. In Ireland the town of Longford is called in the annals Longphorth O’Farrell (the fortress of the O’Farrells). This Irish word is sometimes corrupted, as in Lonart for Longphorth, and in Athlunkard for Athlongford (the ford of the fortress).
FORUM (Lat.),