Other forms: harbours, harboured, harbouring
A harbour is a sheltered place where boats lie safe from the sea. The inner harbour, harbour wall, come into harbour.
This is the British spelling; American English writes harbor. A natural harbour is a bay that shelters itself; an artificial one is built with a breakwater. A port is a harbour with the commercial machinery attached. As a verb, to harbour is to shelter somebody, usually illegally — harbouring a fugitive — and to hold a feeling for a long time: harbour a grudge, harbour doubts.
1nounharbourA sheltered place where boats are safe.
“The fishing boats stayed in the harbour until the storm passed.”
2verbshelterTo shelter somebody, or to hold a feeling for a long time.
“The family was arrested for harbouring a wanted criminal in their attic.”
harbour is a sheltered place, or a holding.
Also accepted in games: harbor
Proto-Indo-European
*ker-
Proto-West Germanic
*harjabergu — army shelter, refuge
Old English
herebeorg — shelter, lodgings, quarters
Middle English
herberwe
English
harbor
English, today
harbour
Built from
harbor comes 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