LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

arbor

arbor f (genitive arboris)
Classical[ˈar.bɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈar.bor]
№ 468 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininea tree
    Interea genitor Tiberini ad fluminis undam / uulnera siccabat lymphis corpusque leuabat / arboris acclinis truncoMeantime, his father at Tiber's flowing stream bathed his wounds in the clear water and his body leant against the trunk of a tree.29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 10
    felix arbora fruit-bearing tree
  2. femininemetonymicallysomething made from a tree, of wood
    arbore malithe mast (of a ship)
    centenaque arbore fluctum verberat adsurgensan oar
  3. femininemetonymicallythe polypus (imagined to have arms like the branches of a tree)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

planta magna et alta cum rāmīs et foliīs; in hortō arborēs crēscunt.
arbor -oris f — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativearborarborēs
genitivearborisarborum
dativearborīarboribus
accusativearboremarborēs
ablativearborearboribus
vocativearborarborēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

arbores caedere
to fell trees.
arbores frondescunt
the trees are coming into leaf.
arbores serere (De Sen. 7. 24)
to plant trees.
arbores stirpesque, herbae stirpesque (De Fin. 5. 11. 33)
the vegetable kingdom.

arbor (arbŏs, Lucr. 1, 774; 6, 786 Lachm.; Ov. M. 2, 212; id. F. 1, 153 (but Merk.
I. arbor, in both places); Verg. E. 3, 56; id. G. 2, 57; 2, 81; id. A. 3, 27; 6, 206 Rib. al.: acc. arbosem, Paul. ex Fest. p. 15 Müll.), ŏris, f. (m., INTER DVOS ARBORES, Inscr. Lyon, I. 27) [v. arduus].
I. A tree.
A. In gen.: arbores serere, to plant, Caecil. Stat. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 14, 31; Cic. Sen. 17, 59: poni, Verg. G. 2, 278: arbos se sustulit, id. ib. 2, 57: arbores putare, Cato, R. R. 32, 1: arbores frondescere, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 28, 69: arboribus frondes redeunt, Ov. F. 3, 237: arbos silvestris, Verg. E. 3, 70: ramosa, Lucr. 5 [1096]: umbrosa, Verg. G. 2, 66; so Ov. P. 4, 5, 41: ingens, Verg. G. 2, 81: alta, Ov. M. 15, 404: summa, Verg. G. 4, 557; so Ov. M. 12, 15: patula, id. ib. 1, 106: fertilis, Verg. G. 4, 142: in quibus (arboribus) non truncus, non rami, non folia sunt, Cic. de Or. 3, 46, 178: sub ramis arboris altae, Lucr. 2, 30, and Verg. A. 7, 108: arborum rami, Vulg. Sap. 17, 17: arbor nuda sine frondibus, Ov. M. 13, 690; Vulg. Marc. 11, 8: arborum cortices, Vulg. Job, 30, 4: arbores ab radicibus subruere, Caes. B. G. 6, 27; Plin. 16, 31, 56, § 130; Vulg. Matt. 3, 10: quarum (arborum) baca, Cic. Tusc. 1, 14, 31: jacent sua quāque sub arbore poma, Verg. E. 7, 54; Vulg. Lev. 26, 20: fructus arborum, Quint. 8, 5, 26; Vulg. Sap. 10, 7.—
B. Spec. with gen. of species: alni, the alder-tree, Varr. R. R. 1, 7, 7: fici, the fig-tree, Cic. Fl. 17, 41; Vulg. Matt. 21, 19: arbores ficorum, Col. 11, 2, 59: arbor ficus (nom.), Vulg. Jud. 9, 10: abietis arbores, fir trees, Liv. 24, 3: arbor palmae, the palm-tree, Suet. Aug. 94: cupressūs, the cypress, id. Vesp. 5: arbor sycomorus, a sycamore, Vulg. Luc. 19, 4; so, arbor morus, ib. ib. 17, 6: arbores olivarum, olive trees, ib. Exod. 27, 20.—Poet.: Jovis, the oak-tree, Ov. M. 1, 106: Phoebi, the laurel-tree, id. F. 3, 139 (cf. id. ib. 6, 91: Apollinea laurus): Palladis, the olive-tree, id. A. A. 2, 518: arbor Herculea, the poplar, Verg. G. 2, 66 (cf.: Arborum genera numinibus suis dicata perpetuo servantur, ut Jovi aesculus, Apollini laurus, Minervae olea, Veneri myrtus, Herculi populus, Plin. 12, 1, 2, § 3; Phaedr. 3, 17) al.—
II. Meton.
A. Things made of wood (cf.: Mille sunt usus earum (arborum), sine quīs vita degi non possit. Arbore sulcamus, maria terrasque admovemus; arbore exaedificamus tecta; arborea et simulacra numinum fuere etc., Plin. 12, 1, 2, § 5).
1. A mast.
(a). With mali: adversique infigitur arbore mali, Verg. A. 5, 504.—
(b). Without mali, Luc. 9, 332; Sil. 3, 129; Paul. Sent. 1. 2, t. 3.—
2. The lever or bar of a press, press-beam, Cato, R. R. 18, 4; 18, 12; Plin. 18, 31, 74, § 317.—
3. An oar: centenāque arbore fluctum Verberat adsurgens, Verg. A. 10, 207.—
4. A ship: Phrixeam petiit Pelias arbor ovem, the ship Argo, Ov. H. 12, 8.—
5. The shaft of a javelin, a javelin, Stat. Th. 12, 769.—
6. Euphemist.: arbor infelix, a gallows, gibbet: caput obnubito, arbori infelici suspendito, Cic. Rab. 4 fin.; Liv. 1, 26, 7; cf. Plin. 16, 26, 45, § 108 (Niebuhr, Röm. Gesch. I. § 365, compares the words of the Fries. law: am argen vordern Baum henken; cf. in Engl. to hang on the accursed tree).—
B. The fabulous polypus, which was fancied to have arms like the branches of a tree: In Gaditano Oceano arbor in tantum vastis dispansa armis, ut fretum numquam intrāsse credatur, Plin. 9, 4, 3, § 8.
Arbor infelix,
I. a town and castle in Rhœtia, now Arbon, Tab. Peut.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃er-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₃érdʰeti?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₃erdʰ-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₃r̥dʰōs
  6. Proto-Italic*arðōs
  7. Old Latinarbōs
  8. Latinarbor

By rhotacism from Old Latin arbōs, from Proto-Italic *arðōs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃r̥dʰ-ōs, from *h₃erdʰ- (“high; to grow”), meaning "high upright plant". Cognate with arduus (“high”). For whatever reason, Schrijver considers the connection "doubtful."

Insular Romance
  • Sardinianarbore
  • Sardinianarbure
  • Sardinianalbore
  • Sardinianalbure
Italo-Romance
  • Italianarbore
  • Italianalbero
  • Italianarbero
  • Corsicanalberu
  • Dalmatianiuarbol
  • Istriotarbaro
  • Istriotarbo
  • Istriotalbero
  • Galluresealburifrom Judeo-Italian אַרְבֵילוֹ
  • Sassareseàiburufrom Judeo-Italian אַרְבֵילוֹ
Balkan Romance
  • Romanianarbure
  • Romanianarbore
  • Aromanianarburi
  • Aromanianarbure
  • Aromanianarbur
  • Aromanianoarbãri
  • Istro-Romanianårbure
  • Megleno-Romanianarbur
Occitano-Romance
  • Catalanarbre
  • Gasconarbe
  • Old Occitanarbre
North Italian
  • Emilianàrbul
  • Emilianâlber
  • Emilianélber
  • Emilianàlbar
  • Ligurianerboro
  • Ligurianèrbo
  • Lombarderbor
  • Lombardàlbor
  • Piedmonteseerbo
  • Friulianarbul
Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençalârbro
  • Old Frencharbre
Ibero-Romance
  • Aragoneseárbol
  • Aragoneseabre
  • Old Leonesearbol
  • Old Leonesearbor
  • Old Leonesearvor
  • Old Leonesearvol
  • Old Galician-Portuguesearvor
  • Old Galician-Portuguesearvol
  • Old Galician-Portuguesearvore
  • Old Spanisharbor
Borrowings
  • Macedonianјарбол
  • Serbo-Croatianја̑рбол
  • Serbo-Croatianjȃrbol
  • Slovenejambor
  • Hungarianárbóc
  • Esperantoarbo

Quick answers

What does arbor mean in Latin?
arbor, a noun, means “a tree; something made from a tree, of wood; the polypus (imagined to have arms like the branches of a tree)”.
What is the genitive of arbor?
The genitive singular is arboris. arbor is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce arbor?
In classical Latin, [ˈar.bɔr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈar.bor].
Where does arbor come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- → Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- → Proto-Indo-European *h₃érdʰeti? → Proto-Indo-European *h₃erdʰ- → Proto-Indo-European *h₃r̥dʰōs → Proto-Italic *arðōs → Old Latin arbōs → Latin arbor.