port
English
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /pɔɹt/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /pɔːt/
- (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /po(ː)ɹt/
- (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /poət/
Audio - 'a port' (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t
Etymology 1

From Old English port, borrowed from Latin portus (“port, harbour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”) (and thus distantly cognate with ford). The directional sense, attested since at least the 1500s, derives from ancient vessels with the steering oar on the right (see etymology of starboard), which therefore had to moor with their left sides facing the dock or wharf.
Noun
port (countable and uncountable, plural ports)
- A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:
- peering in maps for ports and piers and roads
- 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
- From the ground, Colombo's port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.
-
- A town or city containing such a place, a port city.
- (nautical, aviation, uncountable) The left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when one is facing the front. Used to unambiguously refer to directions relative to the vessel structure, rather than to a person or object on board.
- (rowing) A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side.
- Each eight has four ports and four starboards.
Hyponyms
- cold-water port
- warm-water port
Derived terms
- airport
- Burry Port
- carport
- container port
- Dudley Port
- Ellesmere Port
- Gulfport
- home port
- Lockport
- Logansport
- megaport
- Newport
- outport
- Port Adelaide
- Port Allen
- Port Angeles
- Port Antonio
- Port Augusta
- port authority
- Port Canaveral
- Port Carlisle
- Port Chalmers
- Port Clarence
- Port Clinton
- Port Dickson
- Port Dundas
- Port Eglinton
- Port Erin
- Port Eynon
- Port Gibson
- Port Glasgow
- Portgordon
- Port Hope
- Port Huron
- Port Klang
- Port Lavaca
- portlet
- Port Macquarie
- Port Melbourne
- port of call
- port of entry
- Port of Spain
- Port Orchard
- Port Pirie
- Port Royal
- Port Seton
- Port Soderick
- Port St. Joe
- Port St Mary
- Port Sudan
- Port Sunlight
- Port Swettenham
- Port Talbot
- Port Townsend
- Port Victoria
- Port Washington
- Port Weld
- Rock Port
- seaport
- spaceport
- Tayport
- Teesport
- Westport
Related terms
Translations
Adjective
port (not comparable)
Antonyms
Translations
Verb
port (third-person singular simple present ports, present participle porting, simple past and past participle ported)
Translations
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Etymology 2
Inherited from the Old English port, from the Latin porta (“passage, gate”), reinforced by the Old French porte. Doublet of porta.
Noun
port (plural ports)
- (now Scotland, historical) An entryway or gate.
- 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, book X:
- And whan he cam to the porte of the pavelon, Sir Palomydes seyde an hyghe, ‘Where art thou, Sir Trystram de Lyones?’
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.1:
- Long were it to describe the goodly frame, / And stately port of Castle Joyeous […] .
- 1623, Shakespeare, Coriolanus, V.vi:
- Him I accuse / The city ports by this hath enter'd
- 1667, Milton, Paradise Lost, book IV:
- And from their ivory port the Cherubim, / Forth issuing at the accustomed hour
-
- An opening or doorway in the side of a ship, especially for boarding or loading; an embrasure through which a cannon may be discharged; a porthole.
- c. 1615, Sir W. Raleigh, A Discourse of the Invention of Ships, Anchors, Compass […] :
- […] her ports being within sixteen inches of the water […]
-
- (medicine) A small medical appliance installed beneath the skin, connected to a vein by a catheter, and used to inject drugs or to draw blood samples.
- (curling, bowls) A space between two stones wide enough for a delivered stone or bowl to pass through.
- An opening where a connection (such as a pipe) is made.
- (computing) A logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred.
Computer port (hardware) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- (computing) A female connector of an electronic device, into which a cable's male connector can be inserted.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- backport
- porthole
- (computing): port forwarding
- unport
Translations
Verb
port (third-person singular simple present ports, present participle porting, simple past and past participle ported)
- To carry, bear, or transport. See porter.
- 1662, Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England:
- They are easily ported by boat into other shires.
-
- (military) To hold or carry (a weapon) with both hands so that it lays diagonally across the front of the body, with the barrel or similar part near the left shoulder and the right hand grasping the small of the stock; or, to throw (the weapon) into this position on command.
- Port arms!
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, book IV:
- […] the angelic squadron...began to hem him round with ported spears.
- (computing, video games) To adapt, modify, or create a new version of, a program so that it works on a different platform.
Porting (computing) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- (telephony, transitive) To carry or transfer (an existing telephone number) from one telephone service provider to another.
- 2011, Stephen P. Olejniczak, Telecom For Dummies (page 131)
- If you submit a request to port a number, and you list the name on the account as Bob Smith, but your local carrier has the number listed under your wife's name Mary Mahoney, the porting request is rejected.
- 2011, Stephen P. Olejniczak, Telecom For Dummies (page 131)
- (US, government and law) To transfer a voucher or subsidy from one jurisdiction to another.
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
port (plural ports)
- Something used to carry a thing, especially a frame for wicks in candle-making.
- (archaic) The manner in which a person carries himself; bearing; deportment; carriage. See also portance.
- late 14th c., Chaucer, “General Prologue”, in Canterbury Tales, line 69:
- And of his port as meeke as is a mayde.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iii:
- Those same with stately grace, and princely port / She taught to tread, when she her selfe would grace […]
- a. 1717 (date written), Robert South, “(please specify the sermon number)”, in Five Additional Volumes of Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. […], volume (please specify |volume=VII to XI), London: […] Charles Bathurst, […], published 1744, OCLC 1003976319:
- the necessities of pomp, grandeur, and a suitable port in the world
- 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, Olympia Press:
- For the port, the voice, the smell, the hairdress, were seldom the same, from one day to the next, […]
-
- (military) The position of a weapon when ported; a rifle position executed by throwing the weapon diagonally across the front of the body, with the right hand grasping the small of the stock and the barrel sloping upward and crossing the point of the left shoulder.
- (computing) A program that has been adapted, modified, or recoded so that it works on a different platform from the one for which it was created; the act of this adapting.
- Gamers can't wait until a port of the title is released on the new system.
- The latest port of the database software is the worst since we made the changeover.
- (computing, BSD) A set of files used to build and install a binary executable file from the source code of an application.
Derived terms
- (military): at the high port
Translations
Etymology 4
Named from Portuguese Porto, a city in Portugal where the wines were originally shipped from.
Noun
port (countable and uncountable, plural ports)
- A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal.
Translations
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Etymology 5
Abbreviation of portmanteau.
Noun
port (plural ports)
- (Australia) A suitcase or schoolbag.
- 1964, George Johnston, My Brother Jack:
- No, she just paid up proper-like t' the end of the week, an' orf she went with 'er port, down t' the station, I suppose.
- 2006, Alexis Wright, Carpentaria, Giramondo 2012, p. 53:
- How do you think the cane toads got into this pristine environment? Joseph Midnight brought them in his port from Townsville, smuggled them in, not that anyone was there to stop him.
-
Etymology 6
Abbreviation of portfolio.
Noun
port (plural ports)
- (informal) The portfolio of a model or artist.
- 2011, Debbie Rose Myers, The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design (page 53)
- This is a logical way to order your work, but use it only if you're confident the first piece in your port is a strong one. Also note that this style of arrangement works best if all the pieces are in the same category.
- 2011, Debbie Rose Myers, The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design (page 53)
Albanian
Catalan
Etymology 1
From Old Catalan port, from Latin portus, from Proto-Italic *portus, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to go forth, to cross”).
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2
From portar.
Noun
port m (plural ports)
- (rare or archaic) The action of carrying something from one place to another.
- (rare) The volume a boat or another vehicle can carry.
References
- “port” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “port” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Chinese
Pronunciation
Verb
port
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, transitive, colloquial) to file a complaint against; to report
- 2019, “Sonic Jail”, in 理想國/理想国 [The Republic], spoken by Sim Lap Ki (Anthony Wong):
-
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norse portr m, port n, borrowed via Old English port m (“gate”) from Latin porta. Compare also German Pforte.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpoːˀrt/, [ˈpʰoɐ̯ˀd̥]
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɔrt/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: port
- Rhymes: -ɔrt
Alternative forms
Derived terms
- briefport
Descendants
- → Papiamentu: pòrt, port
Etymology 2
Borrowed from English port, from port wine. Named for Portuguese Porto, a city in Portugal where the wines were originally shipped from.
Verb
port
- second- and third-person singular present indicative of porren
- (archaic) plural imperative of porren
French
Etymology 1
From Old French port, borrowed from Latin portus, from Proto-Italic *portus, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to go forth, to cross”).
Noun
port m (plural ports)
Descendants
- → Romanian: port
Further reading
- “port”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈport]
- Hyphenation: port
- Rhymes: -ort
Declension
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | port | portok |
accusative | portot | portokat |
dative | portnak | portoknak |
instrumental | porttal | portokkal |
causal-final | portért | portokért |
translative | porttá | portokká |
terminative | portig | portokig |
essive-formal | portként | portokként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | portban | portokban |
superessive | porton | portokon |
adessive | portnál | portoknál |
illative | portba | portokba |
sublative | portra | portokra |
allative | porthoz | portokhoz |
elative | portból | portokból |
delative | portról | portokról |
ablative | porttól | portoktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
porté | portoké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
portéi | portokéi |
Possessive forms of port | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | portom | portjaim |
2nd person sing. | portod | portjaid |
3rd person sing. | portja | portjai |
1st person plural | portunk | portjaink |
2nd person plural | portotok | portjaitok |
3rd person plural | portjuk | portjaik |
Icelandic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pʰɔr̥t/
- Rhymes: -ɔr̥t
Declension
Irish
Noun
port m (genitive singular poirt, nominative plural poirt)
Declension
First declension
Bare forms:
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Forms with the definite article:
|
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Old Irish port (“bank, shore (of river or sea); landing-place, haven; bank, mound, entrenchment; place, spot, locality; stead, abode; stronghold, fortress”), borrowed from Latin portus (“harbour, port; haven, refuge, asylum, retreat”).
Noun
port m (genitive singular poirt, nominative plural poirt)
Declension
First declension
Bare forms:
|
Forms with the definite article:
|
Mutation
Irish mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
port | phort | bport |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “port”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 port”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “2 port”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Maltese
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɔrt/
Norman
Etymology
From Old French port, borrowed from Latin portus (“port, harbour”).
Norwegian Bokmål
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /puʈ/
- Rhymes: -uʈ
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Derived terms
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /port/, [porˠt]
Noun
port m
Declension
Derived terms
- portcwēn f
- Portesmūþa m
- portgeat n
- portġerēfa m
- portgeriht n
- portherepaþ m
- portmann m
- portstrǣt f
- portwara m
- portweall m
- portweg m
- portwer m
Declension
References
- Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898), “port”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Old French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɔrt/
- Rhymes: -ɔrt
Noun
port m (oblique plural porz or portz, nominative singular porz or portz, nominative plural port)
- port (for watercraft)
- circa 1150, Turoldus, La Chanson de Roland:
- As porz d'Espaigne en est passet Rollant
- Roland went to the ports of Spain
-
Old Irish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [por͈t]
Inflection
Masculine o-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
Nominative | port | portL | puirtL |
Vocative | puirt | portL | portuH |
Accusative | portN | portL | portuH |
Genitive | puirtL | port | portN |
Dative | purtL | portaib | portaib |
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
|
Mutation
Old Irish mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Nasalization |
port | phort or unchanged |
port pronounced with /b(ʲ)-/ |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “port”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Polish
Etymology
Ultimately borrowed from Latin portus, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”). Compare French and English port. Doublet of fiord (“fjord”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɔrt/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔrt
- Syllabification: port
Declension
Derived terms
Romanian
Declension
Related terms
See also
Scottish Gaelic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pʰɔrˠʃt̪/
Derived terms
- puirt à beul
Etymology 2
From Old Irish port (“bank, shore (of river or sea); landing-place, haven; bank, mound, entrenchment; place, spot, locality; stead, abode; stronghold, fortress”), ultimately from Latin portus (“harbour, port; haven, refuge, asylum, retreat”).
Derived terms
Mutation
Scottish Gaelic mutation | |
---|---|
Radical | Lenition |
port | phort |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 port”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “2 port”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Swedish


Etymology 1
From late Old Norse port n, portr m, from Latin porta f. Computing sense a semantic loan from English.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpʊʈ/
audio (file)
Noun
port c
Declension
Declension of port | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | port | porten | portar | portarna |
Genitive | ports | portens | portars | portarnas |
Related terms
Etymology 2
Clipping of portvin.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpoːʈ/
References
Turkish
Declension
Inflection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominative | port | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | portu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singular | Plural | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nominative | port | portlar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | portu | portları | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dative | porta | portlara | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locative | portta | portlarda | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ablative | porttan | portlardan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genitive | portun | portların | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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