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December 28, 2021
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| Word of the Week--"Fjord" |
Definition--a long narrow steep-sided inlet of the sea between two steep slopes, e.g. in Norway, Greenland or Alaska, formed by the flooding of a previously glaciated valley.
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| Discussion--If you look up words that start with the letters "fj" in the allwords dictionary, you won't find much. (And if you believed my elementary school teachers, you shouldn't find anything.) Few Scandinavian words have migrated to English or the Romance languages, and "fj" is a decidedly Scandinavian consonant construction.
I love the sound of the term fjord and have dubbed it my favorite "fj" word. It is a lonely term in our language, just as a fjord is generally a lonely place. Deep water surrounded by cliffs can have an oppressive feel, but I suspect they are just the place for quiet contemplation.
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| Etymology--Not surprisingly, Fjord has Scandinavian roots. It is Norwegian, from the Old Norse fj�rdhr.
The languages below show all show the same roots. |
Foreign Translations
| Dutch: |
fjord (de) |
| French: |
fjord (m) |
| German: |
Fjord (m) |
| Italian: |
fiordo |
| Spanish: |
fiordo |
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Jane Ellis
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