Adjacent Words

Ford definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FORD, n.
1. A place in a river or other water, where it may be passed by man or beast on foot, or by wading.
2. A stream; a current.
Permit my ghost to pass the Stygian ford.
FORD, v.t. To pass or cross a river or other water by treading or walking on the bottom; to pass through water by wading; to wade through.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: United States film maker (1896-1973) [syn: Ford, John Ford]
2: grandson of Henry Ford (1917-1987) [syn: Ford, Henry Ford II]
3: son of Henry Ford (1893-1943) [syn: Ford, Edsel Bryant Ford]
4: English writer and editor (1873-1939) [syn: Ford, Ford Madox Ford, Ford Hermann Hueffer]
5: 38th President of the United States; appointed vice president and succeeded Nixon when Nixon resigned (1913-) [syn: Ford, Gerald Ford, Gerald R. Ford, Gerald Rudolph Ford, President Ford]
6: United States manufacturer of automobiles who pioneered mass production (1863-1947) [syn: Ford, Henry Ford]
7: a shallow area in a stream that can be forded [syn: ford, crossing]
8: the act of crossing a stream or river by wading or in a car or on a horse [syn: ford, fording] v
1: cross a river where it's shallow

Merriam Webster's

I. biographical name Ford Madox 1873-1939 originally Ford Hermann Hueffer English author II. biographical name Gerald R(udolph) 1913- American politician; 38th president of the United States (1974-77) III. biographical name Henry 1863-1947 American automobile manufacturer IV. biographical name John 1586-?1639 English dramatist

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old Norse fj?rthr fjord, Latin portus port, Old English faran to go — more at fare Date: before 12th century a shallow part of a body of water that may be crossed by wading II. transitive verb Date: 1614 to cross (a body of water) by wading • fordable adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. a shallow place where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. --v.tr. cross (water) at a ford. Derivatives: fordable adj. fordless adj. Etymology: OE f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ford Ford (f[=o]rd), n. [AS. ford; akin to G. furt, Icel. fj["o]r[eth]r bay, and to E. fare. [root] 78. See Fare, v. i., and cf. Frith arm of the sea.] 1. A place in a river, or other water, where it may be passed by man or beast on foot, by wading. He swam the Esk river where ford there was none. --Sir W. Scott. 2. A stream; a current. With water of the ford Or of the clouds. --Spenser. Permit my ghost to pass the Stygian ford. --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ford Ford, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Forded; p. pr. & vb. n. Fording.] To pass or cross, as a river or other water, by wading; to wade through. His last section, which is no deep one, remains only to be forted. --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fords, fording, forded) 1. A ford is a shallow place in a river or stream where it is possible to cross safely without using a boat. N-COUNT 2. If you ford a river or stream, you cross it without using a boat, usually at a shallow point. They were guarding the bridge, so we forded the river. VERB: V n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Mention is frequently made of the fords of the Jordan (Josh. 2:7; Judg. 3:28; 12:5, 6), which must have been very numerous; about fifty perhaps. The most notable was that of Bethabara. Mention is also made of the ford of the Jabbok (Gen. 32:22), and of the fords of Arnon (Isa. 16:2) and of the Euphrates (Jer. 51:32).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ford (ma`abhar (Ge 32:22; "pass" (of Michmash), 1Sa 13:23; "stroke" (the Revised Version, margin "passing"), Isa 30:32); ma`barah (Jos 2:7; Jud 3:28; 12:5,6; Isa 16:2 "pass" (of Michmash), 1Sa 14:4; "passages" (the Revised Version, margin "fords"), Jer 51:32); `abharah (2Sa 15:28; 17:16; "ferry-boat" (the Revised Version, margin "convoy"), 2Sa 19:18); from `abhar, "to pass over"; compare Arabic `abar, "to pass over" and ma`bar, "a ford"):

In the journeyings of the children of Israel, in addition to the miraculous passages of the Red Sea and the Jordan, they had other streams to pass over, especially the Zered (Chisa') and the Arnon (Maujib) (Nu 21:12,13; De 2:24). The Jabbok (Zarqa) is frequently referred to, particularly in connection with Jacob (Ge 32:22). The most frequent references are to the Jordan which, in time of flood, was impassable (Jos 3:15).

The lower Jordan is about 100 ft. wide, and from 5 to 12 ft. deep, so that in the absence of bridges, the places where it was possible to ford were of great importance. The passage of the Jordan is referred to in connection with Jacob (Ge 32:10), Gideon (Jud 8:4), the children of Ammon (Jud 10:9), Abner and his men (2Sa 2:29), David (2Sa 10:17; 17:22), Absalom (2Sa 17:24), and others. Jesus undoubtedly crossed the Jordan, and John is thought to have baptized at the ford of the Jordan near Jericho. The fords of the Jordan are specifically mentioned in Jos 2:7 in connection with the pursuit of the spies who were hidden in Rahab's house, and in 2Sa 15:28; 17:16 in connection with the flight of David. In the last two passages we have abharah, the same word which, in the account of David's return (2Sa 19:18), is rendered "ferry-boat" (the Revised Version, margin "convoy").

See JORDAN.

Alfred Ely Day

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Wading-place, shallow. 2. (Poetical.) Stream, current, flood. II. v. a. Wade through (a river), cross on foot, cross by wading.

Moby Thesaurus

access, aisle, alley, ambulatory, aperture, arcade, artery, avenue, bank, bar, bestride, bypass, channel, cloister, colonnade, communication, conduit, connection, coral reef, corridor, covered way, cross, defile, exit, ferry, flat, gallery, get ahead of, go across, go by, inlet, interchange, intersection, junction, lane, opening, outlet, overpass, overstride, pass, pass by, pass over, passage, passageway, portico, railroad tunnel, reef, sandbank, sandbar, shallow, shallows, shelf, shoal, shoal water, shoot ahead of, step over, straddle, tidal flats, traject, trajet, tunnel, underpass, wetlands