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firth

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firth¹

  • /fɜːθ/ UK
  • /fɝθ/ US
  • /fɪɹθ/ Scotland

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)θ

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Scots firth, furth, from Northern Middle English fyrth, from either or both of Old English ford and Old Norse fjǫrðr (“firth, fjord”), from Proto-Germanic *ferþu, *ferþuz (“inlet, fjord”), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to carry forth”) + *-tus (suffix forming action nouns from verb roots). The English word is a doublet of fjord, ford, port, and fjard.

noun firths · frith

  1. An arm or inlet of the sea; a river estuary. The descent continues, still more steeply to Dundee (Tay Bridge), and approaching from the bridge itself this sharp descent gives the curious appearance that the station is below the level of the firth.

firth²

Where it comes from

From Middle English fyrth, a metathetic variant of frith (“forest”), from Old English fyrhþe, fyrhþ (“forest, wooded country; game preserve, hunting ground”), from Proto-West Germanic *furhiþi (“forest, woodland”), Proto-Germanic *furhiþją (“forest, wooded country”), *furhiþǭ, from *furhu (“fir; pine”), from *furahō, *furhō (“fir; pine; (fir or pine) forest”), from Proto-Indo-European *pérkus (“oak”), from *perkʷ- (“oak”).

noun firths · fyrth

  1. Northern England, Scotland, alternative Alternative form of frith (“a forest used for hunting; a (small) wood; wooded country; land covered mainly by brushwood”).

Firth³

Where it comes from

* As an English and Scottish surname, from Old English fyrhþe (“forest”).

* As a Scottish surname, from Firth in Orkney, itself from Old Norse fjǫrðr (“firth”).

* As a Welsh surname, from ffrith, itself borrowed from the first sense.

proper noun Firths

  1. countable, uncountable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable A town in Bingham County, Idaho, United States.
  3. countable, uncountable A village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States.
  4. countable, uncountable A parish on the Bay of Firth, Mainland, Orkney Islands council area, Scotland (OS grid ref HY3514 (approx.)
  5. countable, uncountable A small village in north-east Mainland, Shetland Islands council area, Scotland (OS grid ref HU4473).
  6. countable, uncountable A hamlet south-east of Lilliesleaf, Scottish Borders council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT5423).

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: estuary, sterling, cozens, vickers, frith, fleet, fjord, fiord, fret, forth, fretum, freshet, rift, fiard, fjard, infaring

Translations

Every language

noun arm or inlet of the sea

Españolría
Русскийлима́н limán

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MLA

"firth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/firth. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

firth. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/firth

Chicago

"firth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/firth.

BibTeX
@misc{firth_2026,
  title = {firth},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/firth},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}