Continuing on with the water posts — not to worry, it’s close to the end, lol. This word confusion is exploring pond vs tarn, and I gotta say, there’s not much of a difference. Both are considered small lakes, and can get, ahem, much smaller.
In this case, a pond is more likely to be familiar to us as a fish pond, stock pond, garden pond, etc. And, who knew? A pond is also a verb.
A tarn is strictly a noun and is found in the mountains. It’s likely to be alkaline and almost always formed when a glacier creates a cirque (a glaciated steep-walled amphitheater).
Exploring Later . . .
You may want to explore “Anchorage, Haven, Moorage, and Roadstead“, “Arroyo vs Coulee vs Wadi vs Wash“, “Bay vs Bight vs Cove“, “Bayou vs Bog vs Marsh vs Swamp“, “Beach vs Coast vs Shore“, “Born vs Borne vs Bourn“, “Brook vs Burn vs Draw vs Lick“, “Canal vs Impoundment vs Moat vs Reservoir“, “Cay vs Key vs Quay“, “Channel vs Dyke vs Rill“, “Creak versus Creek“, “Dam versus Damn“, “Delta vs Estuary vs Rapids vs Source“, “Dock vs Pier vs Wharf“, “Firth vs Fjord vs Gulf“, “Harbor vs Marina vs Port vs Quay“, “Lakes: Kettle, Loch, Mere, and Oxbow“, “Lagoon vs Salt Chuck vs Tide Pool“, “Ocean versus Sea“, “Peer versus Pier“, “River vs Stream vs Tributary“, “Rivulet vs Runnel vs Sike“, “Lagoon vs Salt Chuck vs Tide Pool“, “Sea versus See“, “Slew versus Slough“, and “Straight versus Strait“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Pond | Tarn |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive
Plural for the noun: ponds Third person present verb: ponds |
Noun
Plural: tarns |
| Noun: A small body of still water formed naturally or by hollowing or embanking but has similar properties to a lake
Verb, intransitive: [Especially of water] To collect into a small lake or large puddle Verb, transitive: To form ponds or large puddles on (a piece of land) |
Noun: [Usually in place names] A small mountain lake or pool, especially one formed by glaciers (usually in a cirque) |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: We’re putting in a garden pond. What we need is a fishpond. He’s a big fish in a small pond. He’s relatively unknown on this side of the pond. American companies are finding business is different on the other side of the pond. Verb, intransitive: Debris blocked the culvert, and the stream began to pond. Our building’s parking lot is ponding so badly that even the ambulance won’t try to cross it. We need to figure out how to prevent rainwater from ponding on the roof. Verb, transitive: The landslide ponded the stream. “Pleaseth you, pond your suppliant’s plaint” (Spenser). |
Noun: After a glacier scraped the rock down to the slate beneath the limestone, the water in Malham Tarn doesn’t sink into the ground. “It became lost in the sullen waters of the tarn” (Poe). “The mountain streams flow into a sort of natural reservoir or tarn up here” (de Balzac, ch 2). A tarn, often damned by a moraine, can be associated with moving glaciers. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: ponding | |
| History of the Word: | |
| Late Middle English ponde, from the Old English pund- meaning enclosure. | Middle English (originally northern English dialect) is from the Old Norse tjǫrn meaning pond or pool. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Pond vs Tarn
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Apple Dictionary.com
de Balzac, Honore. The Country Doctor. Originally published 1833. Prabhat Prakashan, 2018. <https://amzn.to/4gkhnqP>. Ebook.
Dictionary.com: pond
The Free Dictionary: pond
Glatz, Kyle. “The Complete List of Water Types.” Bodies of Water. Places. AZ Animals. Last updated 2 Nov 2022. Web. 5 June 2023. <https://a-z-animals.com/blog/bodies-of-water-the-complete-list-of-water-types/>.
“Tarns.” National Park Service. n.d. Accessed 7 Sept 2024. <https://www.nps.gov/articles/tarns.htm>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Fall of the House of Usher. Originally published 1839. 2023. <https://amzn.to/3XzjOyl>. Ebook.
Simpson, David. “Rivers, Becks, Burns and Linns: What’s in a (North East) place-name?” England’s Northeast. 10 Nov 2016. Accessed 23 Aug 2023. <https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/2016/11/10/tyne-wear-tees-becks-burns-forces-linns-whats-north-east-place-name/>.
Spenser, Edmund. The Shepheardes Calender. Originally published 1579. Manchester University Press, 2022. <https://amzn.to/3XkuNtY>. Ebook.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Loughrigg Tarn is Diliff‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
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