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fjord

or fiord

[fyawrd, fyohrd; Norwegian fyohr, fyoo r]
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noun
  1. a long, narrow arm of the sea bordered by steep cliffs: usually formed by glacial erosion.
  2. (in Scandinavia) a bay.
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Origin of fjord

From Norwegian; see origin at firth
Related formsfjord·ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for fjord

inlet, arm, ria

Examples from the Web for fjord

Contemporary Examples of fjord

Historical Examples of fjord

  • This fjord has its outlet in Barkley Sound on the west side of the island.

  • But on a calm spring day, the fjord just steals in smooth and shining by ness and bay.

    The Great Hunger

    Johan Bojer

  • A sail on this fjord will bring us to Mariager, the smallest town in Denmark.

    Denmark

    M. Pearson Thomson

  • Between the trees are seen the fjord, high mountain ranges and peaks.

  • They have the fjord so near them, where the shoals of wild fishes pass in and out.

British Dictionary definitions for fjord

fjord

fiord

noun
  1. (esp on the coast of Norway) a long narrow inlet of the sea between high steep cliffs formed by glacial action
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Word Origin for fjord

C17: from Norwegian, from Old Norse fjörthr; see firth, ford
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fjord

n.

1670s, from Norwegian fiord, from Old Norse fjörðr, from North Germanic *ferthuz, from PIE *prtus, from *per- "going, passage" (see port (n.1)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fjord in Science

fjord

[fyôrd]
  1. A long, narrow, deep inlet from the sea between steep slopes of a mountainous coast. Fjords usually occur where ocean water flows into valleys formed near the coast by glaciers.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.