haven

Etymology

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), 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.

noun

1. A harbour or anchorage protected from the sea.
2. (by extension) A place of safety.
   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. December 21, 2011, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian
3. (by extension) A peaceful place.

verb

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