Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees.
  • noun The trees cultivated in such an area.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A garden.
  • noun A piece of ground, usually inclosed, devoted to the culture of fruit-trees, especially the apple, the pear, the peach, the plum, and the cherry; a collection of cultivated fruit-trees.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete A garden.
  • noun An inclosure containing fruit trees; also, the fruit trees, collectively; -- used especially of apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, or the like, less frequently of nutbearing trees and of sugar maple trees.
  • noun (Bot.) a tall coarse grass (Dactylis glomerata), introduced into the United States from Europe. It grows usually in shady places, and is of value for forage and hay.
  • noun (Hort.) a glazed structure in which fruit trees are reared in pots.
  • noun (Zool.) a bright-colored American oriole (Icterus spurius), which frequents orchards. It is smaller and darker thah the Baltimore oriole.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A garden or an area of land to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees.
  • noun The trees themselves cultivated in such an area.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English orceard, alteration of ortgeard : perhaps wyrt, wort, plant; see wort + geard, yard; see gher- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English ortgeard, a compound of ort, either from wyrt ("wort (plant)") or from Latin hortus ("garden"), and geard (see yard). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (aurtigards).

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Examples

  • This orchard is a Central New York institution and a fun fall trip for families.

    LENNDEVOURS: 2007

  • This orchard is a Central New York institution and a fun fall trip for families.

    Old Apple Trees, Family Traditions and Apple Wine 2007

  • Immediately east of the orchard is a native woods, which drops down into the saddle of Saya, a grassy plains ideal for grazing.

    PYA: GLOSSARY FROM SKENISH TO ENGLISH Maggie Jochild 2004

  • Immediately east of the orchard is a native woods, which drops down into the saddle of Saya, a grassy plains ideal for grazing.

    Archive 2004-08-08 Maggie Jochild 2004

  • Apparently, the word orchard is used in conjunction with non-citrus fruit, whereas for citrus fruit one must use the word grove.

    Word Court 2004

  • Apparently, the word orchard is used in conjunction with non-citrus fruit, whereas for citrus fruit one must use the word grove.

    Word Court 2004

  • It's all real, you see – real gamekeeper's lodge, real groping around in "orchard", real flowers.

    Aconite Acolyte Peter Ashley 2008

  • I still remember the B&B and macadamia orchard confiscated by the Zapatistas in Ocosingo a few years ago where the Zapatistas waited until the macadamia trees were in full fruition commercially speaking, confiscated the orchard from the foreign owners and then laid waste to it.

    Indian Land Grab on Michoacan Coast 2009

  • I still remember the B&B and macadamia orchard confiscated by the Zapatistas in Ocosingo a few years ago where the Zapatistas waited until the macadamia trees were in full fruition commercially speaking, confiscated the orchard from the foreign owners and then laid waste to it.

    Indian Land Grab on Michoacan Coast 2009

  • I still remember the B&B and macadamia orchard confiscated by the Zapatistas in Ocosingo a few years ago where the Zapatistas waited until the macadamia trees were in full fruition commercially speaking, confiscated the orchard from the foreign owners and then laid waste to it.

    Indian Land Grab on Michoacan Coast 2009

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