Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

haven

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Remove ads
See also: Haven

English

Etymology 1

    From Middle English haven, havene, from Old English hæfen (haven; harbour; port), from Proto-West Germanic *habanu, from Proto-Germanic *habnō, *habanō (compare Dutch haven, German Hafen, Norwegian/Danish havn, Swedish hamn, French havre), from Proto-Germanic *habą (sea) (compare Old English hæf, Middle Low German haf, Old Norse haf (sea), German Haff (bay or lagoon behind a spit), perhaps, in the sense of "heaving sea", etymologically identical with Old Norse haf (heaving, lifting, uplift, elevation), derived from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (to lift, heave)), or from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pnós (compare Old Irish cúan (harbor, recess, haven)). Doublet of abra.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈheɪvən/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -eɪvən

    Noun

    haven (plural havens)

    1. (literal, dated) A harbour or anchorage protected from the sea.
    2. A safe place.
      Synonyms: refuge, sanctuary, zoar
      • 2011 December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian:
        Since its conception, the European Union has been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world.
    3. A peaceful or tranquil place.
    Derived terms
    Translations

    Verb

    haven (third-person singular simple present havens, present participle havening, simple past and past participle havened)

    1. To put into, or provide with a haven.
    Translations

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English haven; equivalent to have + -en (plural simple present ending).

    Verb

    haven

    1. (obsolete) plural simple present of have
      • 1540, Thomas [Cranmer], “A Prologue or Preface []”, in The Byble in Englyshe, [] (Great Bible), [2nd edition], [London]: [] Edward whytchurche, signature [i], verso:
        And they that occupye them bene in moche ſauegarde, and hauen greate conſolacyon, and bene the readyer vnto all goodnes, the ſlower to all euyll, and yf they haue done any thing amyſe, anone euen by the ſyght of the bookes theyꝛ conſciences bene admoniſhed, and they waxen ſoꝛy ⁊ aſhamed of the facte.
      • 1570, John Foxe, Actes and Monuments, page 517:
        For Lord, what charity hauen such men of religion, that knowen how they mowen against and sinne, and fleen awat from their brethren that bene more vncunning then they ben, and suffren thē to trauelen in the world withouten their councel as beastes?
      • 1606, N[athaniel] B[axter], Sir Philip Sydneys Ouránia, That Is, Endimions Song and Tragedie, Containing All Philosophie, London: [] Ed. Allde, for Edward White, [], →OCLC, signature G, recto:
        The craftie Badger, the Watry Otter / Whome Howndes purſue, till they hauen got her / Theſe Beaſtes been of higheſt Regard and Price / To pleaſure Princes and to murder vice.

    Anagrams

    Remove ads

    Danish

    Noun

    haven c

    1. definite singular of have

    Dutch

    Pronunciation

    Etymology 1

    From Middle Dutch havene, from Old Dutch *havana, from Proto-West Germanic *habanu, from Proto-Germanic *habnō, *habanō.

    Noun

    haven f (plural havens, diminutive haventje n)

    1. harbour
      De schepen liggen veilig in de haven.The ships are safe in the harbour.
      We namen een wandeling bij het kleine haventje na het diner.We took a walk by the small harbour after dinner.
    2. port
      Rotterdam heeft een van de grootste havens ter wereld.Rotterdam has one of the largest ports in the world.
    Derived terms
    general
    Descendants
    • Afrikaans: hawe
    • Papiamentu: haf, haaf
    • Russian: гавань (gavanʹ)

    Etymology 2

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Noun

    haven

    1. plural of have

    References

    Finnish

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    From Proto-Finnic *habën, possibly a Baltic loan.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈhɑʋen/, [ˈhɑ̝ʋe̞n]
    • Rhymes: -ɑʋen
    • Syllabification(key): ha‧ven
    • Hyphenation(key): ha‧ven

    Noun

    haven (dialectal, Southwest Finnish, Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, Kainuu, North Karelia, South Karelia)

    1. (usually in the plural) (human) hair (on the head, beard, etc.)
      Synonyms: hapsi, hius

    Declension

    More information nominative, genitive ...
    More information first-person singular possessor, singular ...

    Anagrams

    Remove ads

    Middle English

    Etymology 1

    From Old English habban, from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną.

    Alternative forms

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    haven (third-person singular simple present hath, present participle havynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative hadde, past participle had)

    1. to own (to have ownership of):
      1. to possess (an abstraction; a quality)
      2. to include (as a part, ingredient, or feature).
      3. to hold; to have at disposal
    2. to get, acquire, or obtain:
      • c. 1375, “Book I”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß [] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2), Ouchtirmunsye: Iohannes Ramsay, published 1489, folio 2, recto, lines 225-228; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:
        A fredome is a noble thing / fredome mayß man to haiff liking / fredome all ſolace to ma[n] giffis / He levys at eß [that] frely levys
        Oh, freedom is a noble thing: / it allows people to get enjoyment / and provides all of humanity's peace. / If you live free, you live at ease!
      • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.), published c. 1410, Joon 10:10, folio 49, verso, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
        a nyȝt þeef comeþ not .· but þat he ſteele ſle ⁊ leeſe / and I cam þat þey haue lijf .· ⁊ haue more plenteuouſli.
        A stealthy thief doesn't come unless he can steal, kill, and ruin. But I came so they could have life, and have it more abundantly.
      1. to take (in); to be given
      2. to have (a child); to give birth
    3. to do; to perform (an action):
      1. (with preposition) to take (away)
      2. to have (done); to cause to (do, be)
      3. to be obliged to do; to be scheduled to do.
    4. (auxillary) Denotes completion; forms the perfect tense.
    5. to keep; to maintain (in a condition)
    6. to have (in a certain relationship)
    7. to consider; to look upon
    8. to experience; to undergo
    Usage notes
    • As in Modern English, haven may be used elliptically in auxiliary constructions if the main verb is implicit.
    • The perfect progressive construction (modern have been + present) is known in Middle English, though rare and late.
    • Some intransitive verbs may form the perfect with ben rather than haven.
    Conjugation
    More information infinitive, present tense ...

    1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

    Contraction

    Descendants
    References

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    haven

    1. alternative form of havene
    Remove ads

    Middle High German

    Etymology

    From Old High German hafan m (pot).

    Noun

    haven

    1. pot

    Swedish

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    haven

    1. definite plural of hav

    West Frisian

    Etymology

    From Old Frisian *hafen, *haven, from Proto-West Germanic *habanu, from Proto-Germanic *habnō.

    Noun

    haven c (plural havens, diminutive haventsje)

    1. harbour
    2. haven, refuge

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    • haven (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

    Wikiwand - on

    Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

    Remove ads