Etymology

Fortescue

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Today it means: A surname. Full definition →

Anglo-Norman Fortescu ← Old Northern French Fort-Escu ← Old French fort + escut
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromfort + escut
  2. Old Northern French · derived fromFort-Escu
  3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromFortescu
  4. English todayFortescue

From Anglo-Norman Fortescu, from Old Northern French Fort-Escu, from Old French fort + escut. Literally, “strong shield”.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.