ENGLISH
REFERENCE

orchard

n. countable
B1 Intermediate US //ˈɔɹtʃɝd// UK //ˈɔːtʃəd// or·chard

n. a piece of land where people grow fruit trees. You usually find apples, pears, or cherries in these places.

n. an area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees. Often used in agricultural or rural contexts.


SIMPLE

We spent the afternoon picking apples in the orchard.

CONTEXTUAL

The family owns a small cherry orchard that produces several tons of fruit every summer.

COMPLEX

The historic manor is surrounded by a sprawling apple orchard, where ancient varieties of fruit are still harvested using traditional methods.

Synonyms
Origin

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.

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