arbor 的詞源

約公元1300年， herber，“草藥園，花園”，源自古法語 erbier “田野，草地； 菜園”，源自拉丁語 herba “草，草本植物”（見 herb）。後來指“草地”（14世紀中葉，古法語中也有這個意思），“陰涼的角落，由樹木、灌木或藤蔓交織而成的涼亭”（14世紀中葉）。它可能不是來自拉丁語 arbor “樹木”（見 arbor（n.2）），儘管也許那個詞影響了它的拼寫：

[O]riginally signifying a place for the cultivation of herbs, a pleasure-ground, garden, subsequently applied to the bower or rustic shelter which commonly occupied the most conspicuous situation in the garden ; and thus the etymological reference to herbs being no longer apparent, the spelling was probably accommodated to the notion of being sheltered by trees or shrubs (arbor). [Hensleigh Wedgwood, "A Dictionary of English Etymology," 1859]

[O]riginally signifying a place for the cultivation of herbs, a pleasure-ground, garden, subsequently applied to the bower or rustic shelter which commonly occupied the most conspicuous situation in the garden ; and thus the etymological reference to herbs being no longer apparent, the spelling was probably accommodated to the notion of being sheltered by trees or shrubs (arbor). [Hensleigh Wedgwood, "A Dictionary of English Etymology," 1859]

但是，在中古英語中，在輔音前從 er- 變爲 ar- 的變化也反映了發音的變化：比較 farm 來自 ferme， harbor 來自古英語 herebeorg。

1650年代，“機器的主要支撐或梁”，源自拉丁語 arbor， arboris “樹”，來自原意意爲“高度，垂直”的 Proto-Italic *arthos，de Vaan 將其源自 PIE *herdhos “高度，垂直”，源自根詞 *eredh- “生長，高”（見 ortho-）。