orchard

Definition

A garden or an area of land for the cultivation of fruit or nut trees.

Etymology

From Middle English orchard, orcherd, from Old English orċeard, ortġeard, a compound of *ort (probably from Proto-Germanic *urtiz, a dissimilated variant of Proto-Germanic *wurt- (“wort (plant)”), later incorrectly associated with unrelated Latin hortus (“garden”)) + ġeard (see hortyard and yard, which ironically is etymologically linked with hortus). Cognate with Swedish örtagård (“herb garden”), Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (aurtigards, “orchard”), Old High German orzōn (“to cultivate a field”). Equivalent to wort + yard. More at root.

Example Sentences

• "[…]belts of thin white mist streaked the brown plough land in the hollow where Appleby could see the pale shine of a winding river. Across that in turn, meadow and coppice rolled away past the white walls of a village bowered in orchards,[…]"