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Harbour vs Estuary - What's the difference?

harbour | estuary | Related terms |

As nouns the difference between harbour and estuary

is that harbour is shelter, refuge while estuary is coastal water body where ocean tides and river water merge.

As a verb harbour

is to provide shelter or refuge for.

harbour

English

Alternative forms

* herberwe (obsolete) * herborough (obsolete) * harbor (now US)

Noun

(wikipedia harbour)
  • (en noun) (British, Canada)
  • (obsolete, uncountable) Shelter, refuge.
  • A place of shelter or refuge.
    • The neighbourhood is a well-known harbour for petty thieves.
  • (obsolete) A house of the zodiac.
  • * Late 14th century: To ech of hem his tyme and his seson, / As thyn herberwe chaungeth lowe or heighe — Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Franklin’s Tale’, Canterbury Tales
  • A sheltered area for ships; a piece of water adjacent to land in which ships may stop to load and unload.
    • The city has an excellent natural harbour .
  • (astrology) The mansion of a heavenly body.
  • A mixing box for materials in glass-working.

    • Derived terms

    * harbourage * harbourmaster * unharboured

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To provide shelter or refuge for.
    • The docks, which once harboured''' tall ships, now '''harbour only petty thieves.
  • * Bishop Burnet
    • The bare suspicion made it treason to harbour the person suspected.
  • * Rowe
    • Let not your gentle breast harbour one thought of outrage.
  • To accept, as with a belief.
    • That scientist harbours the belief that God created humans.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=September 7 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Moldova 0-5 England , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=If Moldova harboured even the slightest hopes of pulling off a comeback that would have bordered on miraculous given their lack of quality, they were snuffed out 13 minutes before the break when Oxlade-Chamberlain picked his way through midfield before releasing Defoe for a finish that should have been dealt with more convincingly by Namasco at his near post.}}

    See also

    * dock * haven

    estuary

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (archaic)

    Noun

    (estuaries)
  • Coastal water body where ocean tides and river water merge.
  • An ocean inlet also fed by fresh river water.

    • Derived terms

    * Estuary English