Harbour

How to spell harbour

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce harbour

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does harbour mean?

1. nounA sheltered area of water along a coast where ships can anchor safely.
2. verbTo give shelter to someone, or to hold a feeling or thought privately.

Harbour in a sentence

• noun

  The fishing boats returned to the harbour before the storm hit.

• verb

  She tried not to harbour any resentment after the dispute at work.

• noun

  A row of cafes lined the edge of the harbour.

• verb

  Old timber frames can harbour damp and decay for years.

Where does harbour come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes from Old English herebeorg, a compound of here meaning 'army' or 'host' and beorg meaning 'shelter' or 'refuge', so the original sense was literally a lodging or shelter for troops. Through the Middle Ages it broadened from a place that sheltered soldiers to any lodging, and then specifically to a sheltered stretch of water where ships could lie safe from storms. The same Germanic ingredients gave German Herberge and the borrowed word 'harbinger', which once meant the person sent ahead to arrange lodgings. The British and Canadian spelling keeps the French-influenced -our ending, the same pattern seen in colour and favour, which is the spelling trap here since Americans write 'harbor'. The verb sense, to give shelter to something or hold a feeling inside, preserves the oldest meaning of providing refuge.

How the word is built

• har- (from Old English here: army, host)
• -bour (from beorg: shelter, protection)

British and American spelling

Harbour is the British spelling. American English spells it harbor.