arbour

• arbor (US)

Middle English arbour, from Old French erbier (“field, meadow, kitchen garden”), from erbe (“grass, herb”), from Latin herba (“grass, herb”). The phonetic change to ar- was assisted by association with Latin arbor (“tree”).

arbour (plural arbours)

1. A shady sitting place, usually in a park or garden, and usually surrounded by climbing shrubs or vines and other vegetation.
   • 1979, J.G. Ballard, The Unlimited Dream Company, chapter 24:

     Children swung from the branches of the banyan tree, teenagers climbed into the arbours of orchids and gourds into which the abandoned cars had been transformed.

2. A shady walk.

arbour (plural arbours)

1. a lawn or a flower bed, a grassy plot
2. a shaded nook