- estuary
- 1530s, from L. aestuarium "a tidal marsh or opening," from aestus "boiling (of the sea), tide, heat." Related: Estuaries; estuarine.
- firth
- "arm of the sea, estuary of a river," early 15c., Scottish, from O.N. fjörðr (see fjord).
- Rio de Janeiro
- lit. "January River," named by explorer Amerigo Vespucci because he discovered it on Jan. 1, 1502, and so called because he incorrectly thought the bay was the estuary of a large river. See January.
- Mohican
- from Mahican (Algonquian) ma:hi:kan "people of the tidal estuary." Spelling with -o- popularized by James Fenimore Cooper's novel.
- port (1)
- "harbor," O.E. port "harbor, haven," reinforced by O.Fr. port, both O.E. and O.Fr. from L. portus "port, harbor," originally "entrance, passage," from PIE *prtu- "a going, a passage," from base *per- "to lead, pass over" (cf. Skt. parayati "carries over;" Gk. poros "journey, passage, way," peirein "to pierce, run through;" L. porta "gate, door," portare "passage," peritus "experienced;" Avestan peretush "passage, ford, bridge;" Armenian hordan "go forward;" Welsh rhyd "ford;" O.C.S. pariti "fly;" O.E. faran "to go, journey," O.N. fjörðr "inlet, estuary"). Meaning "left side of a ship" is attested from 1543, from notion of "the side facing the harbor" (when a ship is docked). It replaced larboard in common usage to avoid confusion with starboard (q.v.); officially so by Admiralty order of 1844 and U.S. Navy Department notice of 1846. Fig. sense "place of refuge" is attested from 1426; phrase any port in a storm first recorded 1749.