Thurso

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Scotland/ˈθʌɹzo/Scotland/ˈθʌɹso/UK/ˈθɜːɹsəʊ/UK/ˈθɜːɹzəʊ/

proper noun

A town in northern Caithness, Highland council area, Scotland.

OriginOld Norse Þórsá ← Latin Tarvodubron ← Proto-Celtic *tarwos →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A town in northern Caithness, Highland council area, Scotland.
  2. A river in Highland council area, Scotland.

Origin

  1. Proto-Celtic*tarwos“bull”
  2. LatinTarvodubron
  3. Old NorseÞórsá“Thor's River”
  4. EnglishThurso

From Old Norse Þórsá (“Thor's River”). The Norse is likely an adaptation of the Latin Tarvodubron from a Proto-Brythonic reflex of Proto-Celtic *tarwos (“bull”) + *dubros (“water”).

More words from Old Norse, Latin, Proto-Celtic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

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Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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