1. A place where ships may ride with safety; any navigable water protected by the surrounding country; a haven. It is public property. 2. torts. To receive clandestinely or without lawful authority a person for the purpose of so concealing him that another having a right to the lawful custody of such person, shall be deprived of the same; for example, the harboring of a wife or an apprentice, in order to deprive the husband or the master of them; or in a less technical sense, it is the reception of persons improperly. 2. The harboring of such persons will subject the harborer to an action for the injury; but in order to put him completely in the wrong, a demand should be made for their restoration, for in cases where the harborer has not committed any other wrong than merely receiving the plaintiff’s wife, child, or apprentice, he may be under no obligation to return them without a demand.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
(verb) – To receive clandestinely and without lawful authority a person for the purpose of so concealing him that another having a right to the lawful custody of such person shall be deprived of the same. A distinction has been taken, in some decisions, between “harbor” and “conceal.” A person may be convicted of harboring a slave, although he may not have concealed her.
(noun) – A haven, or a space ot deep water so sheltered by the adjacent land as to afford a safe anchorage for ships. “Port” is a word of larger import than “harbor,” since it implies the presence of wharves, or at any rate the means and opportunity of receiving and discharging cargo. Harbor authority. In England a harbor authority is a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, being proprietors of, or intrusted with the duty of constructing, improving, managing, or lighting, any harbor. St. 24 & 25 Vict. c. 47. Harbor line. A line marking the boundary of a certain part of a public water which is reserved for a harbor.