port

• (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

The old port of Dubrovnik

From Old English port, borrowed from Latin portus (“port, harbour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”) (and thus a distant doublet of 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.

port (countable and uncountable, plural ports)

1. A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.

   Synonyms: harbour, haven

   • 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, [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.

2. A town or city containing such a place, a port city.

   Synonyms: harbour city, harbour town, port city

   • 2023 July 1, Mark Townsend, “‘We are seen as less human’: inside Marseille’s districts abandoned by the police”, in The Observer‎, →ISSN:

     More broadly, the port is seen as a litmus test for France; if its most multicultural city can foster vast Muslim enclaves viewed with broad suspicion or hostility by the police, then what hope is there elsewhere?

3. (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.

   Synonyms: backboard, larboard, leeboard, left

   Antonym: starboard

4. (rowing) A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side.

   Each eight has four ports and four starboards.

• cold-water port
• warm-water port

• → Hindi: पोर्ट (porṭ)
• → Russian: порт (port)
• → Thai: พอร์ต (pɔ̂ɔt)

port (not comparable)

1. (nautical) Of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel when facing the bow.

   on the port side

• larboard, backboard, left

• starboard

port (third-person singular simple present ports, present participle porting, simple past and past participle ported)

1. (nautical, transitive, chiefly imperative) To turn or put to the left or larboard side of a ship; said of the helm.

   Port your helm!

Inherited from the Old English port, from the Latin porta (“passage, gate”), reinforced by the Old French porte. Doublet of porta.

port (plural ports)

1. (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

2. 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 […]

3. (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.
4. (curling, bowls) A space between two stones wide enough for a delivered stone or bowl to pass through.
5. An opening where a connection (such as a pipe) is made.
6. (computing):
   1. A logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred. Computer port on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
   2. A female connector of an electronic device, into which a cable's male connector can be inserted.
   3. (also networking) A number that delimits a connection for specific processes or parts of a network service.

• backport
• porthole
• port forwarding
• unport

From Old French porter, from Latin portāre (“carry”). Akin to transport, portable.

port (third-person singular simple present ports, present participle porting, simple past and past participle ported)

1. 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.

2. (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.

3. (computing, video games) To adapt, modify, or create a new version of, a program so that it works on a different platform.
4. (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.

5. (US, government and law) To transfer a voucher or subsidy from one jurisdiction to another.

port (plural ports)

1. Something used to carry a thing, especially a frame for wicks in candle-making.
2. (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. […], volumes (please specify |volume=VII to XI), London: […] Charles Bathurst, […], published 1744, →OCLC:

     the necessities of pomp, grandeur, and a suitable port in the world

   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC:

     For the port, the voice, the smell, the hairdress, were seldom the same, from one day to the next, […]

3. (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.
4. (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.

5. (computing, BSD) A set of files used to build and install a binary executable file from the source code of an application.

• at the high port

Named from Portuguese Porto, a city in Portugal where the wines were originally shipped from.

port (countable and uncountable, plural ports)

1. A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal.

• Porto, porto, port wine

• Madeira, madeira
• Marsala, marsala
• sherry

Abbreviation of portmanteau.

port (plural ports)

1. (Queensland) 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.

   • 2001, Sally de Dear, The House on Pig Island‎, page 8:

     As they left the classroom, Jennifer pointed at the shelves lining the veranda. “Put your port in there.”
     “What?” asked Penny.
     “Your port - your school bag, silly. It goes in there.”

   • 2006, Alexis Wright, Carpentaria, Giramondo, published 2012, page 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.

Abbreviation of portfolio.

port (plural ports)

1. (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.

• port de bras

• -trop-, Prot., prot-, torp, trop, trop-, trop.

port m (plural porte, definite porti, definite plural portet)

1. port, harbor

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈpɔrt]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ˈpɔɾt]
• Rhymes: -ɔɾt

Inherited from Old Catalan port, from Latin portus, from Proto-Italic *portus, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to go forth, to cross”).

port m (plural ports)

1. port, harbour

• aeroport

• portuari

From portar.

port m (plural ports)

1. (rare or archaic) the action of carrying something from one place to another
2. (rare) the volume a boat or another vehicle can carry

• “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.

Clipping of English report.

port

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, transitive, informal) to file a complaint against; to report
   • 1992, Fight Back to School II:

     有，你點放兩隻癲狗嚟打我呀？吓？你講呀！我要port你、port你，我要port埋你個死肥婆！ [Cantonese, trad.]
     有，你点放两只癫狗嚟打我呀？吓？你讲呀！我要port你、port你，我要port埋你个死肥婆！ [Cantonese, simp.]

     jau⁵, nei⁵ dim² fong³ loeng⁵ zek³ din¹ gau² lei⁴ daa² ngo⁵ aa³? haa²? nei⁵ gong² aa³! ngo⁵ jiu³ pok¹ nei⁵, pok¹ nei⁵, ngo⁵ jiu³ pok¹ maai⁴ nei⁵ go³ sei² fei⁴ po⁴! [Jyutping]

     Yes! Why are you letting these two mad dogs to beat me up? Why, tell me! I'm reporting you, you, and you big fat woman!

   • 2019, “聲音監獄 [Sonic Jail]”, in 理想國 [The Republic], spoken by 單立奇 [Sim Lap Ki] (黃秋生 [Anthony Wong]):

     我唔撚食喇我呀！妖，我而家port你呀！我而家port你呀我！ [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]

     ngo⁵ m⁴ lan² sik⁶ laa³ ngo⁵ aa³! jiu², ngo⁵ ji⁴ gaa¹ pot¹ nei⁵ aa³! ngo⁵ ji⁴ gaa¹ pot¹ nei⁵ aa³ ngo⁵! [Jyutping]

     I'm not fucking gonna eat this shit! Damn, I'm gonna report you now! I'm gonna report you now!

From Old Norse portr m, port n, borrowed via Old English port m (“gate”) from Latin porta. Compare also German Pforte.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoːˀrt/, [ˈpʰoɐ̯ˀd̥]

port c (singular definite porten, plural indefinite porte)

1. gate
2. gateway

• IPA^(key): /pɔrt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: port
• Rhymes: -ɔrt

Borrowed from French port.

port m or n (plural porten)

1. postage

• porto

• briefport

• → Papiamentu: pòrt, port

Borrowed from English port, from port wine. Named for Portuguese Porto, a city in Portugal where the wines were originally shipped from.

port m (uncountable, diminutive portje n)

1. (a glass of) port, port wine, Porto

port

1. inflection of porren:
   1. second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. (archaic) plural imperative

• IPA^(key): /pɔʁ/

• audio

  (file)

• Homophones: porc, porcs, ports

Inherited 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”).

port m (plural ports)

1. port, harbour
2. port, harbour city
3. refuge
4. transport
5. postage
6. stature, way of carrying oneself

• → Romanian: port

Deverbal of porter. Ultimately from the same source as etymology 1 above.

port m (plural ports)

1. wearing (act of wearing something)

• “port”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• trop

• IPA^(key): [ˈport]
• Hyphenation: port
• Rhymes: -ort

port (plural portok)

1. (computing) port

por +‎ -t

port

1. accusative singular of por

Ultimately from Latin porta.

• IPA^(key): /pʰɔr̥t/
• Rhymes: -ɔr̥t

port n (genitive singular ports, nominative plural port)

1. gate, gateway, entryway

• hlið

port m (genitive singular poirt, nominative plural poirt)

1. (music) tune

   Is buaine port ná glór na n-éan; is buaine focal ná toice an tsaoil. (proverb)

   A tune is more lasting than the song of birds; a word is more lasting than the wealth of the world.

2. jig (dance)

• portaireacht

From Old Irish port (“bank, shore”),[1] borrowed from Latin portus (“harbour”).

port m (genitive singular poirt, nominative plural poirt)

1. landing-place
2. harbor, port
3. bank (of river, etc.)
4. mound, embankment
5. refuge, haven, resort
6. stopping-place
7. place, locality
8. fortified place, stronghold
9. occupied place, seat, centre

• 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), “2 port ‘tune’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

From Latin portus.

port m (plural porc)

1. port, harbour

Borrowed from Sicilian portu, from Latin portus.

• IPA^(key): /pɔrt/

port m (plural portijiet)

1. harbour, port

   Synonym: (archaic) marsa

Inherited from Old Polish port.

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɔrt]
• Syllabification: port

port m inan

1. port (a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers)

• Zofia Stamirowska (1987-2024) “port”, in Anna Basara, editor, Słownik gwar Ostródzkiego, Warmii i Mazur‎, volume 6, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk, →ISBN, page 255

From Old French port, borrowed from Latin portus (“port, harbour”).

port m (plural ports)

1. (Jersey) harbour, port

   Synonyms: caûchie, hâvre

From Middle Norwegian portr m, from late Old Norse portr m, port n, ultimately from Latin porta f.

• IPA^(key): /puʈ/
• Rhymes: -uʈ

port m (definite singular porten, indefinite plural porter, definite plural portene)

1. a gate
2. (computing) port (logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred)
3. (computing) port (female connector of an electronic device)

• inngangsport

• “port” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Middle Norwegian portr m, from late Old Norse port n, ultimately from Latin porta f.

port m (definite singular porten, indefinite plural portar, definite plural portane)

1. a gate
2. (computing) port (logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred)
3. (computing) port (female connector of an electronic device)

• inngangsport

• “port” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /port/, [porˠt]

Borrowed from Latin portus (“harbour, port, haven, warehouse”).

port m

1. a port, a haven (a harbor or harbor-town)
2. a town, particularly one with special trading privileges
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Seven Sleepers"

     ...he wolde gan ut of ðam porte...

     ...he desired to go out of the town...

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Seven Sleepers"

     nu ic wæs of þam rihtan wege mines ingeþances ac betere hit bið þæt ic eft fare ut of þysum porte ðylæs þe ic to swiðe dwelige and for-þy þonne ne cume to minum geferum þe me ær hyder sendon; gewislice ic her ongyten hæbbe þæt me hæfð gelæht fæste mines modes oferstige þæt ic nat na forgeare hu ic hit þus macige.

     Now I was in the right way in my inward thought, but better will it be that I go out of this town again lest I be too greatly bewildered, and so may not come to my comrades who erewhile sent me here; certainly I have here perceived that the over anxiety of my mind hath here seized me, so that I know not very certainly why I thus act.

• Middle English: port
  • English: port
  • Scots: port

Borrowed from Latin porta (“gate, entrance, passage, door”).

port m

1. portal (a door or gate; an entrance)

• Middle English: port
  • English: port
  • Scots: port

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “port”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Borrowed from Latin portus.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɾt/
• Rhymes: -ɔrt

port oblique singular, m (oblique plural porz or portz, nominative singular porz or portz, nominative plural port)

1. port (for watercraft)
   • c. 1150, Turoldus, La Chanson de Roland:

     As porz d'Espaigne en est passet Rollant

     Roland went to the ports of Spain

• French: port
  • → Romanian: port
• Norman: port
• → Middle High German: port
  • German: Port
    • → Russian: порт (port)

Borrowed from Latin portus.

• IPA^(key): [por͈t]

port m (genitive puirt, nominative plural puirt)

1. place
2. shore

• Irish: port
• Manx: purt
• Scottish Gaelic: port

• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “port”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Learned borrowing from Latin portus. First attested in 1471.

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /pɔrt/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /pɔrt/

port m ?

1. port (a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers)
   • 1901 [1471], Materiały i Prace Komisji Językowej Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, volume V, page 135:

     Applicuimus przistalischmy kv portu (inde navigantes... applicuimus Samum Act 20, 15)

     [Applicuimus przystalismy ku portu (inde navigantes... applicuimus Samum Act 20, 15)]

• Masurian: port
• Polish: port
  • → Kashubian: pòrt

• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “port”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “port”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Inherited from Old Polish port. Sense 4 and sense 5 are semantic loans from English port. Doublet of fiord (“fjord”).

• IPA^(key): /pɔrt/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔrt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔrt
• Syllabification: port

port m inan (diminutive porcik, related adjective portowy)

1. port (a place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers)
2. port (a town or city containing such a place, a port city)
3. harbor, haven (place of safety)

   Synonyms: azyl, przystań, schronienie

4. (computing) port (logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred)
5. (computing, networking) port (number that delimits a connection for specific processes or parts of a network service)
6. (Middle Polish) goal, aim (intent of one's actions)

   Synonym: cel

7. (Middle Polish) harbor, haven (one who gives a place of safety)
8. (Middle Polish) gate (place where one enters)

   Synonym: wrote

9. (Middle Polish) warehouse

   Synonyms: magazyn, skład

10. (Middle Polish) a type of tax
11. (Middle Polish) papal estate; Further details are uncertain.
    • 1560, M. Krowicki, Obrona nauki‎, page 75:

      izali Papieſz [...]/ niewymamił [...]/ na Ceſárzach/ [...]/ rozmáite Páńſtwá/ Kroleſthwá/ Kxięſtwá/ Powiáty/ Miáſtá/ Porty/ Zamki/ Wśi/ Cżyńſze/ Mytá/ Folwárki/ y inſze rozmáite płáty.

• → Kashubian: pòrt

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), port is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 11 times in scientific texts, 33 times in news, 10 times in essays, 4 times in fiction, and 6 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 64 times, making it the 1026th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[1]

• port in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• port in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “port”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “PORT”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 01.10.2019
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “port”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “port”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎
• A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1908), “port”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), volume 4, Warsaw, page 719

Borrowed from French port, Italian porto, Latin portus.

port n (plural porturi)

1. port (town with port)

• portuar

• iman

port

1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of purta

• IPA^(key): /pʰɔrˠʃt̪/

port m (genitive singular puirt, plural puirt or portan)

1. tune

• fonn
• mànran

• puirt à beul

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”).

port m (genitive singular puirt, plural puirt or portan)

1. port, harbour

• acarsaid
• cala

• longphort
• port-adhair

• 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

From late Old Norse port n, portr m, from Latin porta f. Computing sense a semantic loan from English.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʊʈ/

• audio

  (file)

port c

1. a larger entrance
   1. a (robust) door leading into a larger building, for example an apartment building

      Jag är vid porten, kan du öppna?

      I'm at the door, can you buzz me in?

   2. a doorway
   3. a gate
   4. a portal
2. (computing) a port (logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred)

Clipping of portvin.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoːʈ/

port ?

1. Clipping of portvin (“port wine”).

   Synonym: porto (obsolete)

• port in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• port in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• port in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• torp

Borrowed from English port.

port (definite accusative portu, plural portlar)

1. (computer hardware, networking) port