Etymologically
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haven

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:06. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈheɪvən/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, late Old English hæfen, hæfne,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old Norse hǫfn (“haven, harbour”) (genitive hafnar),[2][3][5] from Proto-Germanic *hafnō-, source also of Danish havn, Middle Low German havene and German Hafen (“harbour”).[6][3] Etymonline suggests PIE Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grasp”), as a place that holds ships, or a relation to Old English hæf, sea;[6][4] Barnhart and Hoad compare Old Irish cúan, a bend, bay.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A recess of the sea or a river mouth giving shelter for ships: 1031, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, a refuge, is from about 1200 (before 1225 in the OED),[2][7][6] and is now practically the only sense,[6] the literal one being rhetorical.[3] Havener, a harbour master, is from the mid-14th century.[6] The verb, to put into a haven, is from about 1375,[7] and to shelter as in a haven a later sense.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1031 – a harbour.[2]
  • c. 1200 – a refuge.[2]
  • mid-14th century – havener.[6]
  • c. 1375 – the verb.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A place of refuge or rest; a sanctuary.
  2. A harbour or anchorage; a port.

Verb

  1. To shelter in or as if in a haven.

Word family

  • havenless
  • havenward
  • harbour
  • have
  • haff

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press