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 .

Words Nearby arbor

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

  • The outer end of the mainspring is attached to the rim of the barrel, and the inner end to the barrel arbor.

  • On the circumference of the barrel are gear teeth, and those teeth engage corresponding teeth on the arbor of the center.

  • These arbor teeth are in all cases called, not “wheels” but “pinions,” and in watch trains the wheels always drive the pinions.

  • When that wheel turns to the right, as it must, it will force back the arm of the pallet which swings on its arbor.

  • The studio had disappeared under the verdant arbor, while a wonderful spangled tree rose like a fairy dream, in one corner.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson

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