Lough

A lough is a body of water and is either:
* A lake.
* A sea lough, which may be a fjord, estuary, bay, or sea inlet.

It can also be used as a surname, with various pronunciations: law, loch, low, lowe, loth, loff.

Lough is an Hiberno-English form of the Old Irish word loch, which means lake, or bay. The form "loch" is also used in Irish English and Scottish English. "Lough" is also used for some bodies of water in the far north of England.

Except when individually named, loughs are often referred to as lakes, fjords, estuaries, and sea inlets. Thus "lake district" and "estuary bed" may be used in preference to "lough district" and "lough bed". (This practice is not followed to anything like the same degree in English use of loch.)

Irish loughs

Almost all lakes in Ireland are named as "loughs" in their anglicised form. Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is the largest lake in the British Isles. The three on the River Shannon are Lough Allen, Lough Ree, and Lough Derg. Upper and Lower Lough Erne are two consecutive lakes in Fermanagh, an area often referred to as "Ireland's lake district".

Sea loughs include Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle.

English loughs

In the north of England, "lough" survives in the name of some bodies of water and other place names. Many of these are in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall, and also in the Lake District.

In surnames

"Lough" is itself an Irish surname, as well as being a compound in various other surnames, mostly derived fron specific Loughs, such as Loughan, Lougheed, Loughlin, Loughman, Loughnan, Loughnane, Loughney, Loughran and Loughrey.

See also

External links

* [http://www.uklakes.net/ UKLakes Online Database]