Cape Froward

1 9.9

A point at the southern tip of mainland South America on the Strait of Magellan

proper noun

: Cabo Froward

Cape Froward is often cited in geography textbooks as the southern tip of mainland South America.

Examples

Storms are frequent near Cape Froward, making it a difficult area for navigation.
The expedition reached Cape Froward after several weeks of challenging travel through Patagonia.
I visited Cape Froward last summer.
Have you ever been to Cape Froward?
Cape Froward is often cited in geography textbooks as the southern tip of mainland South America.
The expedition reached Cape Froward after several weeks of challenging travel through Patagonia.
Storms are frequent near Cape Froward, making it a difficult area for navigation.

Surface Forms

Cape Froward main

Morphology

cape + Froward

This is a place name (toponym) where 'cape' is transparent as a promontory but 'Froward' is a proper name (not a semantically transparent lexical item here). The specific referent 'the southernmost point on the mainland of South America' cannot be derived from the constituents, and toponyms are typically arbitrary and unpredictable for learners.

Etymology

Cape Froward may get its name from the old English word froward, which meant 'stubborn' or 'hard to deal with'. Early sailors found strong winds and bad weather there, so they called the place 'froward', and the name came to mean a dangerous, difficult point on the coast.