Ford (crossing)

Ford (crossing)

A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.

The names of many towns and villages are derived from the word 'ford', for example Oxford (a ford where oxen crossed the river: see the Oxford coat of arms), or Stratford (a ford on a Roman road). Similarly, the German word Furt (as in Frankfurt, the ford of the Franks, Ochsenfurt, synonymous to Oxford, Schweinfurt, a ford where swine crossed the river, and Klagenfurt) and the Dutch voorde, (as in Vilvoorde, Coevorden, Zandvoort, or Amersfoort) are cognates and have the same meaning.

Towns such as Maastricht, Dordrecht, and Utrecht also formed at fords but the ending tricht, drecht, or trecht is derived from the Latin word traiectum, meaning "crossing". The Afrikaans form was taken into South African English as drift and led to placenames like Rourke's Drift. Similarly, in Slavic languages, word brod comes from the linguistic root that means "river-crossing" or "place where river can be crossed". Although today "brod" in Croatian language literally means "ship", Slavonski Brod in Croatia, as well as Makedonski Brod in Macedonia and other place names containing "Brod" in Slavic countries, where "brod" is still the word for ford, are named after fords.