A blend of French 'herb garden' and Latin 'tree' — two roots tangled into one English word.
Definition
A shady garden alcove with sides and roof formed by trees or climbing plants.
The Full Story
Latin1300swell-attested
TheEnglishword arbor has a doubly layered history. It entered Middle English from Old French erbier (herb garden, grassy plot, bower of plants), derived from Latin herba (grass, herb), from PIE *gʰr̥dʰ- or possibly *ghers- (to grow stiff, to bristle — evokinggrasses). However, in both spelling and meaning it became thoroughly conflated with Latin arbor (tree, a free-standing
Did you know?
'Arbor Day' preserves thetree sense; 'arboretum' (a tree garden) combines both meanings.
. In engineering and mechanics, arbor also denotes a rotating shaft or spindle — a cylindrical core around which material is shaped, carrying over the metaphor of the trunk as a central axis. The etymological blend of herb-garden bower and tree gives English arbor its unique softness. Key roots: arbo (Latin: "From Old French 'erbier' (herb garden, g").