'harbor' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'herebeorg', where 'here' meant 'army' and 'beorg' meant 'shelter'.

'herebeorg' changed into Middle English forms such as 'herberge'/'harberwe', was influenced by Old French 'herberge', and eventually became the modern English word 'harbor' (US)/'harbour' (UK).

Initially, it meant 'shelter for an army' or 'lodging'; over time it evolved to mean 'a place of shelter (for ships or people)' and later extended metaphorically to mean 'to shelter' or 'to hold (thoughts or feelings)'.