Pond, Pool, Pound: Origins, Forms, Histories of Words Meaning River, Lake

The natural features of a region are its topography (Greek topos, "place"). Rivers, lakes, and related bodies of freshwater are important types of topographic features.

In the current alphabetic series of words that name such freshwater features, here are the origins, forms, and histories of pond, pool, and pound. The dates of forms and meanings come from the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Pond
Pond and its variant Middle English spelling ponde emerged in the 14th century. The word is believed to be an alteration of Middle English pounde ("enclosure," 14th century).

Many dialects in England and Scotland use pond and pound (see pound below) interchangeably.

The original meaning of pond is a small body of water artificially confined (14th century). The confinement of the water usually has a specific purpose, and traditionally the purpose becomes part of the name of the structure, as in fish pond and duck pond.

A natural body of water usually larger than a pool but smaller than a lake is also called a pond (15th century).

Pool
Modern English pool comes from Middle English pool (13th century), from Old English pol (before 12th century). The word is akin to Old High German pfuol ("pool").

A pool is any of the following: a small, deep body of water, usually natural freshwater (c. 897); a quiet place in a river or stream (c. 1000); and a small, shallow collection of standing water, that is, a puddle (1843).

The term swimming pool, for a pool, especially an artificial tank, suitable for swimming, dates from 1899.

Pound
The Modern English water-related word pound (16th century) comes from Middle English pounde (14th century), from Old English pund, known only in the rare combining form pund- (12th century). Its earlier history is uncertain.

Many dialects in England and Scotland use pound and pond (see pond above) interchangeably.

The original meaning of pound is an enclosure for animals or a place of confinement for people (14th century).

Since the 14th century, pound has also had various water-related senses: a body of still water, usually of artificial formation, that is, a pond (now dialectal); a body of water held up by a dam (now dialectal); and the reach, or visible straight portion, of a canal above a lock.

An enclosure within which fish are kept, especially the inner compartment of a fish trap, is a pound (19th century).
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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.