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definitions

arbor

1
[ahr-ber]
See more 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.
  3. Obsolete. a grass plot; lawn; garden; orchard.
Also especially British, ar·bour.

Origin of arbor

1
1350–1400; Middle English (h)erber < Anglo-French, Old French (h)erbier herbarium; respelling with -or under the influence of arbor3

arbor

2
[ahr-ber]
noun
  1. Machinery.
    1. 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.
    2. a beam, shaft, axle, or spindle.
  2. Metallurgy. a reinforcing member of a core or mold.

Origin of arbor

2
1650–60; respelling, by association with arbor3, of earlier arber, arbre < French, Old French < Latin arbor wooden beam or part in an olive press, tree

arbor

3
[ahr-ber]
noun, plural ar·bo·res [ahr-buh-reez] /ˈɑr bəˌriz/. Botany.
  1. a tree.

Origin of arbor

3
1660–70; < New Latin, Latin: tree.
Related formsar·bo·resque, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for arbor

box, shelf, counter, bed, furniture, lattice, arbor, shaft, support, stem, hinge, pole, stalk, axle, pivot, spindle, gudgeon, pin, rod, axis

Examples from the Web for arbor

Contemporary Examples of arbor

Historical Examples of arbor

  • As they drew near the arbor they heard Bradley say: "This was my dream, Dorothy."

  • Then he waved his hand towards the long seat that stood at the back of the arbor.

    The Lion's Skin

    Rafael Sabatini

  • Got it hung on the lattice in my arbor in the garden down home in Maryland.

    Mixed Faces

    Roy Norton

  • He might have won two planets, but he had turned his Eden into an arbor of deadly nightshade.

    It's All Yours

    Sam Merwin

  • From close by, within the arbor, came the sound of faint whispering.

British Dictionary definitions for arbor

arbor

1
noun
  1. the US spelling of arbour

arbor

2
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
  3. metallurgy a part, piece, or structure used to reinforce the core of a mould

Word Origin for arbor

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
Word Origin and History for arbor
n.

c.1300, herber, "herb garden," from Old French erbier "field, meadow; kitchen garden," from Latin herba "grass, herb" (see herb). Later "a grassy plot" (early 14c., a sense also in Old French), "a shaded nook" (mid-14c.). Probably not from Latin arbor "tree," though perhaps influenced by its spelling.

The change from er- to ar- before consonants in Middle English also reflects a pronunciation shift: cf. farm from ferme, harbor from Old English herebeorg.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
arbor in Medicine

arbor

[är′bər]
n. pl. ar•bo•res (är′bə-rēz′)
  1. A treelike anatomical structure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.