arbor
arbor Lexical Profile
arbor Game Scores & Validity
• noun
American A shady garden alcove or walk enclosed by trees, shrubs, or climbing vines trained over a latticework frame.
"The couple exchanged their vows beneath a wooden arbor covered in blooming white roses."
A main rotating shaft, spindle, or axle in a machine tool that holds or drives a cutting tool or grinding wheel.
"The machinist carefully mounted the circular saw blade onto the arbor before starting the motor."
A tree-like branching structure, especially of nerve fibers or dendrites in anatomy.
"Under the microscope, the intricate dendritic arbor of the neuron resembled the branches of an ancient oak."
• Rhymes for arbor
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The garden sense derives from Middle English erber, from Old French herbier ('herb garden'), from Latin herba ('grass, herb'), later altered in spelling by association with Latin arbor ('tree'). The mechanical sense comes from French arbre ('beam, shaft'), directly from Latin arbor.