harborage

Harborage is a noun referring to shelter, refuge, or lodging. It describes a place where a person, animal, or thing can be sheltered or concealed. In nautical use, harborage is a sheltered place where ships can lie safely—often within a harbor or sheltered bay. The term can also refer to the harbor itself or to the broader protection provided by a harbor.

In ecology and public health, harborage denotes locations that provide food, water, shelter, and concealment for wildlife or pests. Structures, vegetation, or debris can offer harborage for rats, cockroaches, bed bugs, birds, or ticks, facilitating colonization and persistence. Pest-control efforts frequently target harborage sites to reduce infestations.

Legally, harboring a person or animal can imply giving shelter or concealment, which in some jurisdictions constitutes an offense if done to aid wrongdoing.

Etymology: harborage derives from harbor, with the suffix -age to form a noun indicating a place of shelter or lodging; the sense has evolved to cover both human and nonhuman shelter contexts.