HAVEN

Meaning

A harbour or anchorage protected from the sea.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English haven, havene, from Old English hæfen (“haven; harbour; port”), either from Proto-West Germanic *habanu or Old Norse hǫfn, from Proto-Germanic *habnō, *habanō (compare Dutch haven, German Hafen, Norwegian/Danish havn, Swedish hamn, French havre), from Proto-Germanic *habą (“sea”) (compare Old English hæf, Middle Low German haf, Old Norse haf (“sea”), German Haff (“bay or lagoon behind a spit”), perhaps, in the sense of "heaving sea", etymologically identical with Old Norse haf (“heaving, lifting, uplift, elevation”), derived from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to lift, heave”)), or from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pnós (compare Old Irish cúan (“harbor, recess, haven”)). Doublet of abra.

Synonyms & Antonyms

NYT Puzzle Appearances

No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022.