Etymograph

English

abra

Abra comes from Spanish abra ‘small bay, inlet’, from French havre ‘harbour / harbor (US)’, and ultimately from Old Dutch *havana.

  1. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*havana1reconstructed
  2. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500havene1
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presenthavre2‘harbour / harbor (US)’
  4. Spanishc. 1500–presentabra3‘small bay, inlet’
  5. Englishtodayabra3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French havre
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Spanish abra
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English abra

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*havanaWiktionary, French havrereconstructed
  2. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500haveneWiktionary, French havre
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presenthavreWiktionary, Spanish abra‘harbour / harbor (US)’
  4. Spanishc. 1500–presentabraWiktionary, English abra‘small bay, inlet’
  5. EnglishtodayabraWiktionary, English abra

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *habanu ‘harbour, haven’

haven

Another origin of abra

  1. Gulf Arabicmodernعَبْرَةʕabra
  2. Englishtodayabra

Today it means

noun a narrow mountain or mesa pass

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “abra”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for French havre, Spanish abra. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old Dutch *havana / abra

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