arbor

1
[ ahr-ber ]
See synonyms for arbor on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a leafy, shady recess formed by tree branches, shrubs, etc.

  2. a latticework bower intertwined with climbing vines and flowers.

  1. Obsolete. a grass plot; lawn; garden; orchard.

Origin of arbor

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (h)erber, erba(i)re, arbere “(flower) garden, pleasure garden, herb garden,” Anglo-French (h)erber, Old French (h)erbier “grassy place, herb garden”; respelling with -or under the influence of arbor3
  • Also especially British, ar·bour .

Other definitions for arbor (2 of 3)

arbor2
[ ahr-ber ]

noun
  1. Machinery.

    • a bar, shaft, or axis that holds, turns, or supports a rotating cutting tool or grinding wheel, often having a tapered shank fitting tightly into the spindle of a machine tool.: Compare mandrel.

    • a beam, shaft, axle, or spindle.

  2. Metallurgy. a reinforcing member of a core or mold.

Origin of arbor

2
First recorded in 1650–60; from French, arbre “tree, axis,” from Latin arbor “tree, mast, (spear) shaft, oar”; respelling of earlier arber, arbre by association with arbor3

Other definitions for arbor (3 of 3)

arbor3
[ ahr-ber ]

noun,plural ar·bo·res [ahr-buh-reez]. /ˈɑr bəˌriz/. Botany.
  1. a tree.

Origin of arbor

3
First recorded in 1660–70; from New Latin, Latin; see also arbor2

Other words from arbor

  • ar·bo·resque, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use arbor in a sentence

  • After some minutes Halstead remembered the letter from Tres Arbores.

    The Motor Boat Club in Florida | H. Irving Hancock
  • It was postmarked at Tres Arbores, and the boy remembered the writing.

    The Motor Boat Club in Florida | H. Irving Hancock
  • Item, an nativi custumarii maritaverunt filias—vel vendiderint vitulum—vel arbores—succidant.'

    Villainage in England | Paul Vinogradoff
  • According also unto the later caution of Laurenbergius; Arbores domestic insitioni destinat, semper anteponend Sylvestribus.

  • By the time that the boat put out from shore again the two boys and the Tres Arbores policeman were just coming up from below.

    The Motor Boat Club in Florida | H. Irving Hancock

British Dictionary definitions for arbor (1 of 2)

arbor1

/ (ˈɑːbə) /


noun
  1. the US spelling of arbour

British Dictionary definitions for arbor (2 of 2)

arbor2

/ (ˈɑːbə) /


noun
  1. a rotating shaft in a machine or power tool on which a milling cutter or grinding wheel is fitted

  2. a rotating shaft or mandrel on which a workpiece is fitted for machining

  1. metallurgy a part, piece, or structure used to reinforce the core of a mould

Origin of arbor

2
C17: from Latin: tree, mast

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012