portal

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈpɔː.təl/, US /ˈpɔːr.t̬əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French portal (“gate”) and directly from Medieval Latin portāle, city gate, porch,^[2][3][4] the neuter of portālis, of a gate,^[2][4] from Latin porta (“gate”) (see port).^[2][5] The anatomical adjective is from New Latin portālis, from porta, the transverse fissure of the liver.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A door or gateway, especially a large and imposing one: probably about 1380,^[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes the use for the whole architectural treatment of the entrance of a cathedral or grand building.^[3] The figurative sense is from about 1590.^[6] In anatomy, the valves of the heart were portals from 1615,^[2] and the portal vein system from 1845.^[2] An engineering frame with two uprights is from 1876 and a tunnel entrance from 1881,^[6] and the place where a drug or radiation enters the body from 1910.^[3][6] In computing, a website that gives access to other sites dates from 1990 in the Historical Thesaurus.^[7][8]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – a gateway.^[2]
• c. 1590 – figurative use.^[6]
• 1615 – a valve of the heart.^[2]
• 1845 – portal vein.^[2]
• 1990 – an internet portal.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A doorway, entrance or gate, especially a large and imposing one.
2. Any entrance or means of access.
3. (computing) A website that offers links to other sites.
4. The portal vein.

Adjective

1. (anatomy) Of or relating to the portal vein, which carries blood to the liver.

Word family

• portaled
• portal-to-portal
• portal vein

Related words

• port
• porch
• porter
• portico

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press