bower

Meaning

Noun

1. A bedroom or private apartments, especially for a woman in a medieval castle.
2. A dwelling; a picturesque country cottage, especially one that is used as a retreat.
3. A shady, leafy shelter or recess in a garden or woods.
4. A large structure made of grass, twigs, etc., and decorated with bright objects, used by male bower birds during courtship displays.

Verb

1. To embower; to enclose.
2. (obsolete) To lodge.

Synonyms

arbour

arbor

pergola

boudoir

embower

cottage

chamber

thicket

grove

trellis

square gazebo

shade of tree

bow-maker

bower anchor

booth

dinner party

jollification

meeting

party

🥳

soiree

summerhouse

summer house

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bour

Inherited from Old English: būr

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Búur

Cognate with German: Bauer

Cognate with Old Norse: búr

Cognate with Danish: bur

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: bur

Cognate with Swedish: bur

Inherited from Middle English: boueer

Cognate with Dutch: boer

Cognate with Albanian: burrë

In summary

From Middle English bour, from Old English būr, from Proto-West Germanic *būr, from Proto-Germanic *būrą (“room, abode”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Búur (“storage room, utility room; cage”), German Bauer (“birdcage”), Old Norse búr (“cage”) (Danish bur, Norwegian Bokmål bur, Swedish bur).