Harborage

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A place offering shelter or refuge from danger or trouble
2. A safe location providing protection and concealment
3. A sanctuary or haven where one can find safety and protection

Etymology: Harborage is a plain formation: the English noun "harbor" with the suffix "-age" added. The suffix came into English from Old French, where "-age" (in earlier forms "-age" from Latin "-aticum") marked a collection, condition, or place connected with a base noun, so that words like "passage" and "anchorage" were built the same way. Adding it to "harbor" produced a noun for the state of being sheltered, or a place that offers shelter. The base word has an older and more dramatic story than its suffix. "Harbor" descends from Old English "herebeorg," a compound of "here," meaning army, and "beorg," meaning shelter or refuge. The original sense was a military shelter, a place where troops could lodge, and only later did the word settle onto ships and coasts. The sense of shelter from danger in "harborage" keeps that older idea of a refuge, even though the modern maritime use dominates the word "harbor."

Synonyms: shelter, refuge, harbor, asylum, sanctuary

Antonyms: exposure, danger, threat, risk, vulnerability