arbor (n.1)

约公元1300年， herber，“草药园，花园”，源自古法语 erbier “田野，草地； 菜园”，源自拉丁语 herba “草，草本植物”（见 herb）。后来指“草地”（14世纪中叶，古法语中也有这个意思），“阴凉的角落，由树木、灌木或藤蔓交织而成的凉亭”（14世纪中叶）。它可能不是来自拉丁语 arbor “树木”（见 arbor（n.2）），尽管也许那个词影响了它的拼写：

[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，在中古英语中，在辅音前从 er- 变为 ar- 的变化也反映了发音的变化：比较 farm 来自 ferme， harbor 来自古英语 herebeorg。

1650年代，“机器的主要支撑或梁”，源自拉丁语 arbor， arboris “树”，来自原意意为“高度，垂直”的 Proto-Italic *arthos，de Vaan 将其源自 PIE *herdhos “高度，垂直”，源自根词 *eredh- “生长，高”（见 ortho-）。