Flush, Fork, Fresh, Freshet, Freshwater: Origins, Forms, Histories of Words Meaning River, Lake

The natural features of a region are its topography (Greek topos, "place").

Rivers, lakes, and related freshwater bodies are among the most important topographic features of an area. Many terms relating to freshwater features have little-known meanings and/or colorful etymologies.

In the current alphabetic series of such words, here are the origins, forms, and histories of flush, fork, fresh, freshet, and freshwater. The dates of forms and meanings come from the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Flush
The river-related noun flush is believed to be a modification (influenced by the English verb flush) of Latin fluxus ("flow, flux").

A sudden flow of water, especially an increase in the volume of a stream, is a flush (1529).

Extensions of the word refer to any sudden increase or surge, such as a rush of emotion (17th century) and a shooting up of plants (18th century).

Fork
Modern English fork comes from Middle English forke (14th century), which evolved from Old English forca (before 12th century) and was influenced by Old North French forque, both from Latin furca.

The original meaning of fork is any pronged instrument, such as one used in agriculture (c. 1000) and one used for eating food (1463).

The point at which a river divides into two, the point of junction of two rivers, or a river branch or tributary itself is a fork (1692).

Fresh
The Modern English water-related noun fresh (16th century) comes from the use of the adjective fresh as an absolute construction. The adjective comes from Middle English fresh (14th century), from Old French freis, of Germanic origin. The word is akin to Old High German frisc ("fresh") and Old English fersc ("fresh," only in the sense "not containing salt").

From the "new, additional" sense of the adjective comes the primary meaning of the noun: an increased flow or rush of water, especially a swelling of the stream in a river (1538).

Fresh has two less-used meanings as well: any stream, spring, or pool of freshwater (1571, archaic); and a stream of freshwater running into salt water, especially that part of a river immediately above the flow of tidal seawater (1634).

Freshet
Freshet (16th century) is a combination of the water-related noun fresh and the diminutive suffix -et.

Freshet has the same three principal meanings as fresh: a current of fresh water that flows into the sea (1596); any stream of freshwater (archaic, 1598); and a great rise or overflowing of a stream caused by heavy rains or melted snow (1654).

Freshwater
The noun freshwater emerged during the Middle English period (14th century) as the noun phrase fresh water. In its general application, the word refers to any water that is not salty. More specifically, it denotes a freshwater pond, lake, stream, or river.
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Encyclopaedia Britannica Ready Reference 2004. CD-ROM. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2006.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2007.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1989.