Lough

A lough is a body of water and is either:

• A lake
• A sea lough, which may be a fjord, estuary, bay, or sea inlet.

It can also be used as a surname, with various pronunciations: law, loch, low, lowe, loth, loff, lohguh.

Lough is a Hiberno-English form of the Old Irish word loch, which means lake, or bay. The form loch is also used in Irish English, Lough is also used for some small bodies of water in the far north of England.

Except when individually named, loughs are often referred to as lakes, fjords, estuaries, and sea inlets. Thus lake district and estuary bed may be used in preference to lough district and lough bed. (This practice is not followed to anything like the same degree in English use of loch.)