Arbors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A structure for plants to climb upon, a collection of trees offering shade and protection, and a feature in landscaping that adds aesthetics through greenery and design
2. A supportive framework for vines, an assembly of trees providing shelter and coolness, and an element in garden design that promotes visual appeal with natural elements
3. A built framework designed to support climbing plants ; a natural collection of trees growing closely together

Etymology: "Arbors" is the plural of "arbor," and the two senses in your definition come from different roots that ended up with the same spelling. The sense of a closely grown group of trees comes from Latin "arbor," meaning tree, which English took in directly. The garden framework for climbing plants is a separate word. It descends from Old French "erbier," a herb garden, which in turn comes from Latin "herba," meaning herb or grass. English earlier spelled it "arbour" or "herber," reflecting that French source rather than any tree. The two forms eventually converged in spelling, so a vine-covered trellis and a stand of trees now look like relatives. Their histories, though, run separately. The herb-garden root is the one that explains the trellis, while the tree root explains the grove.

Synonyms: trees, groves, canopies, shade, bowers