herber

See also: Herber

English

Etymology

From Middle English herber, erber (“pleasure garden; herb garden”). Doublet of arbour.

Noun

herber (plural herbers)

1. (rare) A garden in which herbs and vegetables are grown; a herbarium

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Adjective

herber

1. inflection of herb:
   1. strong/mixed nominative masculine singular
   2. strong genitive/dative feminine singular
   3. strong genitive plural

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Anglo-Norman herber, erber (“garden”), from erbe (“grass, herb”); equivalent to herbe +‎ -er.

Alternative forms

• eerbir, erbare, erbayre, erber, erbere, herbere, herbier
• arber, arbere (influenced by Latin arbor (“tree”))
• herbarwe, herbergh (influenced by herberwe (“harbor”))

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛrˈbɛːr/, /ɛrˈbeːr/, /ˈɛrbər/, /ɛːrb-/

Noun

herber (plural herbers)

1. A garden or orchard:
   • c. 1450, The Book of Vegecye of Dedes of Knyghthode [Douce], (trans. of Vegetius, De re militari), line 98b:

     Also loke þyn gardynes and orchardes & erberes with-ynne þe citee be wel I-tyled, as wel for profite & nede as for honest disport.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   1. A pleasure garden.
      • c. 1300, The Thrush and the Nightingale [Digby], line 98:

        'Ich habbe leue to ben here, In orchard and in erbere Mine songes for to singe.

        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   2. A herb garden.
      • c. 1400, William Langland, Piers Plowman [Laud Misc.], line 16.15:

        Herte hatte þe erber þat it in groweth.

        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

      • c. 1400, Kyng Alisaunder [Laud Misc.], line 331:

        Herbes he took in on herbere And stamped hem in a mortere.

        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. An arbor; a shady place for sitting.
   • c. 1330, The Seven Sages of Rome [Auchinleck], line 76:

     Þe louerd had o gardin; A wel fair ympe is þar in; A fair herber hit ouer spredez.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. A lawn; a grassy area.
   • c. 1425, The Seven Sages of Rome [Cotton Galba], line 628:

     He had ordaynd..A faire gardine..Þare stode a faire pine-appel tre..And vnder it was an herber grene.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

• English: herber, arbour
• Scots: herber (obsolete)

References

• “hē̆rbẹ̄r, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

herber

1. Alternative form of herberwe

Etymology 3

Verb

herber

1. Alternative form of herberwen