port English · revision 3762

+ English has four main words spelled ''port'': the harbour, from Latin portus, the gate or opening, from Latin porta, the bearing, from Latin portāre “to carry”, and the wine, named after Oporto.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) The three Latin words are related.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /pɔːt/, US /pɔːrt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|harbour}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, borrowing|attested=before 899|origins=la portus}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The harbour is [[inh|enm|port]], [[inh|ang|port|t=harbour, haven; town]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and in Middle English it was reinforced, [[bor|fro|port|t=harbour, mountain pass]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Both are from [[la|portus|t=harbour; originally an entrance, a passage]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) akin to [[m|la|porta|t=gate]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*prtu-|t=a going, a passage]], a suffixed form of [[ine-pro|*per-|t=to lead, pass over]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[ford]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The left side of a ship is probably from the same word, as the side that faced the harbour when the ship was docked,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) or from the porthole sense.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A harbour: before 899, in Alfred's translation of Orosius,^(Barnhart 1988) and in the OED from about 893.^(OED 1989) A town with a harbour is from before 900.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A figurative place of refuge is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and ''any port in a storm'' from 1749.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A ''port of entry'' is from 1840, and a ''port of call'' from 1810 in Etymonline^(Etymonline) or 1884 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The left side of a ship, looking forward, is from the 1540s,^(Etymonline) about 1544 in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024) On old ships the steering oar was on the right side, so they tied up on the other;^(Etymonline) the loading hatch was on this side, turned towards the quay.^(Cresswell 2021) It replaced [[larboard]], which was too easily confused with [[starboard]] when shouted in a gale;^(Cresswell 2021) the change was made official by Admiralty order in 1844 and by a United States Navy Department notice in 1846.^(Etymonline) Barnhart's first example of the left side is in Manwayring's ''Seaman's Dictionary'' (1625–44).^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective is from 1857.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – a harbour.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 900 – a town with a harbour.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 15th century – a refuge.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – the left side of a ship.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1749 – ''any port in a storm''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1810 – ''port of call''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – replaces larboard in the Royal Navy.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A place on the coast or a river where ships load and unload; a [[harbour]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A town or city with such a harbour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[port of entry]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A place of refuge.^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The left-hand side of a ship or aircraft, facing forward; [[larboard]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # On the left side of a ship or aircraft.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To turn a ship to the left.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[airport]]

+ * [[seaport]]

+ * [[passport]]

+ * [[heliport]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|opening}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la porta}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The opening is [[inh|enm|porte|t=gate]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|porte|t=gate, entrance]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|porta|t=city gate, door, passage]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) akin to [[m|la|portus|t=harbour]], from [[ine-pro|*per-|t=to lead, pass over]].^(Etymonline) Old English also had an occasional port in this sense, from Latin, but the Middle English word seems to be a new borrowing through French.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A gate, the gate of a town or fortress: about 1300,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) with the surname Port from 1243.^(Barnhart 1988) The gate of a city or walled town is from the 13th century in Hoad.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An opening in the side of a ship, the [[porthole]], is from the mid-14th century;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) in old warships it was the opening through which the cannon were pointed.^(Etymonline) The medical sense, a place where something enters the body, is by 1908, probably short for [[portal]].^(Etymonline) In electronics a pair of terminals where a signal enters or leaves a device is from 1953, and in computing a place where signals enter or leave a system by 1979.^(Etymonline) The verb, to move a program to another computer system, is from 1984, perhaps from the hardware sense, influenced by [[portable]].^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1243 – the surname Port.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – a gate.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – a porthole.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – in medicine.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1953 – in electronics.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1979 – in computing.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1984 – verb, to port software.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[porthole]], or its cover.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An opening for the passage of steam or a fluid, as in a [[valve]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An opening in a fortification or armoured vehicle for firing through.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(computing)'' A socket or interface for connecting a device.^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(chiefly Scottish)'' A gate or [[portal]], as of a town.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(computing)'' To adapt a program to run on a different system.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[porthole]]

+

+ {{homograph|3|bearing}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la portō}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The bearing is [[inh|enm|pourt]],^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|port|t=carriage, demeanour]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|fro|porter|t=to carry]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|portāre|t=to carry, bear]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*per-|t=to lead, pass over]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, “to carry”, is [[bor|fr|porter]], from the same Latin verb,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which is also the source of [[deport]], [[export]], [[import]], [[report]] and [[support]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Bearing, carriage, mien: about 1300 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) probably before 1300 in ''Guy of Warwick'' according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ External appearance is from about 1400, and the now archaic “state, style of living” from the 1520s.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The verb, “to carry, bring”, is from the 1560s,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the military sense, to carry a rifle diagonally across the body, from the 1620s.^(Etymonline) [[portly]], once “of dignified bearing”, is from the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – bearing, demeanour.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – appearance.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – style of living.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – verb, to carry.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1620s – to carry a rifle.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The way a person carries himself or herself; [[bearing]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The position of a weapon carried diagonally across the body.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To carry a [[rifle]] or sword diagonally across the body, the muzzle or blade near the left shoulder.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[portly]]

+

+ {{homograph|4|wine}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=eponym, clipping|attested=1691|origins=pt Porto}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The wine is a shortening of Oporto, Portuguese O Porto “the port, the harbour”, the city in northwestern Portugal from which it was first shipped to England.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The name of the city goes back to Latin portus, the source of port¹.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A sweet dark-red wine: 1691 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) the 1690s in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) the Unabridged dates it to about 1626.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Port became the national drink in England after the Methuen Treaty of 1703, which let in Portuguese wines at a third less duty than French ones.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1691 – port wine.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1703 – the Methuen Treaty.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A rich, sweet [[fortified wine]] from the valley of the Douro in Portugal, or a similar wine made elsewhere.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[portal]]

+ * [[porter]]

+ * [[porch]]

+ * [[portable]]

+ * [[portfolio]]

+ * [[ford]]

+ * [[fare]]

+ * [[larboard]]

+ * [[starboard]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scotland ''port'' is also a tune on the bagpipe, from Scottish Gaelic.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}