Dover

Do·ver
D2O1V4E1R1
UK/ˈdəʊ.və/US/ˈdoʊ.vɚ/

proper noun

A town, civil parish (with a town council) and major port in Kent, England, the closest point to France (OS grid ref TR3141).

OriginOld English Dofras ← Latin Dubris ← Proto-Celtic *dubros →
CommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A town, civil parish (with a town council) and major port in Kent, England, the closest point to France (OS grid ref TR3141).

    "I seriously thought we'd been invaded by Russians," a Dover resident, Robin Burkhardt, told the BBC.

    2026 September 12, Daniel Sandford, “Hardened activists are changing tactics and mobilising the anti-migrant vote”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 12 Sep 2026, retrieved 12 Sep 2026
    1 more example

    Rafael Pittman, a tour guide from London, said the area had been "absolute chaos" in the three hours that he was there, waiting to pick up a group of tourists who had docked at Dover.

    2026 September 5, Simon Jones, James Buchan, Joshua Askew, “Disruption at Port of Dover due to 'stop the boats' protest”, in BBC News, retrieved 05 Sep 2026
  2. A sea area between this port and France.
  3. A local government district of Kent, including this town and port.
  4. A neighbourhood of Abram, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England (OS grid ref SD6001).
  5. A town in Huon Valley council area, southern Tasmania, Australia.
  6. A neighborhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  7. A small fishing and lumber town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; formerly, Shoal Bay and Wellington.First known use 1973
  8. A village in Nova Scotia, Canada.
  9. A neighborhood of Singapore.
  10. A number of places in the United States:
    1. The capital city of Delaware, and the county seat of Kent County.
    2. A town and township in Pope County, Arkansas.
    3. A census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida.
    4. An unincorporated community in Screven County, Georgia.
    5. A minor city in Bonner County, Idaho.
    6. A village in Bureau County, Illinois.
    7. An unincorporated community in Dearborn County, Indiana.
    8. An unincorporated community in Shawnee County, Kansas.
    9. A minor home rule city in Mason County, Kentucky.
    10. A former town in Piscataquis County, Maine, now Dover-Foxcroft, Maine.
    11. A town and census-designated place therein, in Norfolk County, Massachusetts.
    12. A minor city in Olmsted County, Minnesota.
    13. A village in Lafayette County, Missouri.
    14. A city, the county seat of Strafford County, New Hampshire.
    15. A town in Morris County, New Jersey.
    16. A town in Dutchess County, New York.

      After standing around on the dirt steppe for a bit, surveying the nearby pit-bull kennels and skeletal mountain tree line, I headed back to Dover to meet Renny Abrams, the town judge, at his bustling country store and gas station.

      2012 January 23, Aaron Lake Smith, “Peeling Oniontown”, in VICE, archived from the original on 02 May 2025
    17. A small town in Craven County, North Carolina.
    18. A city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
    19. A small town in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma.
    20. A borough in York County, Pennsylvania.
    21. A small town, the county seat of Stewart County, Tennessee.
    22. A ghost town in Sanpete County, Utah.
    23. A town in Windham County, Vermont.
    24. An unincorporated community in Loudoun County, Virginia.
    25. A small town in Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
    26. An unincorporated community in Price County, Wisconsin.
    27. A town in Racine County, Wisconsin.
    28. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Dover Township.
  11. A surname.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dʰubrós“dark”
  2. Proto-Celtic*dubros“water”
  3. LatinDubris
  4. Old EnglishDofras
  5. EnglishDover

From Old English Dofras, from Latin Dubris, from Brythonic Dubras (“the waters”), from Proto-Celtic *dubros (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰubrós (“dark”), from *dʰewb- (“deep”). Compare Tauber. The village in Nova Scotia is likely named after the town in England.

More words from Old English, Latin, Proto-Celtic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan Dover, Dobla
  • Doverport in Kent, England
  • Doblaport in Kent, England
Chinese Mandarin 多佛爾 /多佛尔
  • 多佛爾 /多佛尔 (Duōfó'ěr)port in Kent, England
Danish Dover
  • Doverport in Kent, England
Dutch Dover
  • Doverport in Kent, England
Esperanto Dovero
  • Doveroport in Kent, England
French Douvres
  • Douvresport in Kent, England
German Dover
  • Doverport in Kent, England
Greek Ντόβερ
  • Ντόβερ (Ntóver)port in Kent, England
Hebrew דובר
  • דובר (duvr)port in Kent, England
Japanese ドーバー
  • ドーバー (Dōbā)port in Kent, England
Latin Dubris, Dubris
  • Dubrisport in Kent, England
  • Dubriscapital of Delaware
Norwegian Dover
  • Doverport in Kent, England
Persian دوور
  • دوور (dover)port in Kent, England
Portuguese Dover
  • Doverport in Kent, England
Russian Дувр
  • Дувр (Duvr)port in Kent, England
Swedish Dover
  • Doverport in Kent, England
Urdu ڈووَر
  • ڈووَر (ḍovar)port in Kent, England
Welsh Dofr
  • Dofrport in Kent, England

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Dover

overrovercloverGroverploverspilloverdrovertrover
All rhymes →

Anagrams

drovevedroDovreDevorVoder
Cite this entry
APA

Dover. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dover

MLA

“Dover.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dover. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Dover,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dover.

Source: Dover on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.