ford

A shallow place in a body of water, such as a river, where one can cross by walking or riding on an animal or in a vehicle.

To cross (a body of water) at a ford.

[Middle English, from Old English.]

n. a shallow place in a river or stream allowing one to walk or drive across.

(of a person or vehicle) cross (a river or stream) at a shallow place.

fordable adj. fordless adj.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Shallow river crossings were important to the early Celts before technology provided ferries and bridges. Ritona was a Continental Celtic goddess of fords worshipped at Trier, in what is now Germany. Many hand-to-hand combats take place at fords, notably that of Cúchulainn and Ferdiad in the Táin Bó Cuailnge [Cattle Raid of Cooley]. See also the spectral figure of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folklore, the *washer at the ford.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - vadested
v. tr. - vade over en flod, komme over en flod

Nederlands (Dutch)
wad, doorwaden

Français (French)
n. - gué
v. tr. - passer une rivière à gué

Deutsch (German)
n. - Furt
v. - durchqueren

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αβαθές και διαβατό τμήμα ποταμού, πόρος, πέραμα, πέρασμα
v. - διασχίζω αβαθή ποταμού, διαπεραιώνομαι, διαπορθμεύομαι

Italiano (Italian)
guado

Português (Portuguese)
n. - vau (m) (trecho raso de rio ou mar)
v. - cruzar (rio ou mar em seu vau)

Русский (Russian)
брод, переходить вброд

Español (Spanish)
n. - vado
v. tr. - vadear, esguazar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vadställe
v. - vada över, vada

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
浅滩, 涉过

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 淺灘
v. tr. - 涉過

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 얕은 여울
v. tr. - 걸어서 건너다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 歩いて渡れる所, 浅瀬, フォード, フォード車
v. - 浅瀬を渡る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مخاضه, معبر (فعل) يخوض النهر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מעברה (בנהר)‬
v. tr. - ‮חצה נהר (ברגל)‬

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