Meanings
fenland1
plural fenlands
- countableuncountableA kind of low-lying ground, often wet or marshy.
It is this duplication of facilities which is mainly responsible for the poor loadings experienced on the Midland & Great Northern line, apart, of course, from the general sparsity of traffic in Northern Norfolk, and the fenlands around the Wash.
1958 August 28, “Closing of the Midland & Great Northern Line”, in Railway Magazine, pages 525-526
Fenland2
- A local government district of Cambridgeshire, England.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlow-lying wet land with grassy vegetation; usually is a transition zone between land and water
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishfenland
- Middle Englishfenlond
- Englishfenland
From Middle English fenlond, from Old English fenland, equivalent to fen + land. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foanlound (“moorland”), West Frisian feanlân (“peat bog”), Dutch veenland (“peat bog”), Middle Low German vēnlant, vennelant (“swampy, boggy pastureland”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish suo
- suolow-lying, wet, marshy ground
German tief liegendes Feuchtgebiet
- tief liegendes Feuchtgebietlow-lying, wet, marshy ground
Persian لشابزار
- لشابزار (lešâbzâr)low-lying, wet, marshy ground
Polish mokradło
- mokradłolow-lying, wet, marshy ground
Tagalog katunlakan, katanlakan
- katunlakanlow-lying, wet, marshy ground
- katanlakanlow-lying, wet, marshy ground
- katarlakanlow-lying, wet, marshy ground
Cite this entry
fenland. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fenland
“fenland.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fenland. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fenland,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fenland.
Source: fenland on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.