Other forms: harbors, harboring, harbored
A harbor is the protected water by a town where ships rest. A natural harbor, enter the harbor, harbor wall.
Shelter is the whole point: a harbor is a place where a ship is safe from the sea, natural or built. As a verb it means to shelter something you should not — harbor a fugitive, harbor a grudge. Note the British spelling harbour; and that the Old English word meant an army shelter.
1nounharborProtected water where ships rest.
“The fishing boats were tied up safely in the harbor during the storm.”
2verbshelterTo shelter something you should not.
“The family was punished for harboring a wanted criminal.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
harbor is a sheltered place.
Also accepted in games: harbour, port
Old English herebeorg is here, army, plus beorg, protection — a shelter for troops. Harbinger comes from the same lodging.
Proto-Indo-European
*ker-
Proto-West Germanic
*harjabergu — army shelter, refuge
Old English
herebeorg — shelter, lodgings, quarters
Middle English
herberwe
English, today
harbor
Built from
From Middle English herberwe, herber, from Old English herebeorg (“shelter, lodgings, quarters”), from Proto-West Germanic harjabergu (“army shelter, refuge”), from harjaz (“army”) + bergō (“protection”), equivalent to Old English here (“army, host”) + beorg (“defense, protection, refuge”). The final syllable was subsequently altered by analogy with the Anglo‐Norman and Old French suffix -or (as seen in loanwords like honour and labour). a doublet of albergo and auberge. See also borrow, bury, harbinger, harry and here.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA