port
see also: Port, PORT
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /pɔɹt/
  • (RP) IPA: /pɔːt/
  • (rhotic, non-horse-hoarse) IPA: /po(ː)ɹt/
  • (non-rhotic, non-horse-hoarse) IPA: /poət/
Etymology 1

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

Noun

port

  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
  2. A town or city containing such a place, a port city.
    Synonyms: harbour city, harbour town, port city
  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
    Antonyms: starboard
  4. (rowing) A sweep rower that primarily rows with an oar on the port side.
    Each eight has four ports and four starboards.
Translations

see port/translations

Adjective

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
Synonyms Antonyms Translations

see port/translations

Verb

port (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!
Etymology 2

Inherited from the Old English port, from the Latin porta, reinforced by the Old French porte.

Noun

port (plural ports)

  1. (now Scotland, historical) An entryway or gate.
  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.
  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.
Translations

see port/translations

Etymology 3

From Old French porter, from Latin portāre.

Verb

port (ports, present participle porting; simple past and past participle ported)

  1. To carry, bear, or transport. See porter.
  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!
  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.
Translations

see port/translations

Noun

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.
    • 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 ↗:
      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.
Translations
  • Spanish: versión portada
Etymology 4

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

Noun

port

  1. A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal.
Synonyms Translations Etymology 5

Abbreviation of portmanteau

Noun

port (plural ports)

  1. (Queensland) A suitcase or schoolbag.
Etymology 6

Abbreviation of portfolio

Noun

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
Proper noun
  1. Archaic form of Porto (A city in Portugal)
  2. Surname.
Etymology 2

Shortened form of Portsmouth.

Proper noun
  1. (after a qualification) University of Portsmouth, used especially following post-nominal letters indicating status as a graduate.
Proper noun
  1. (AU, informal) Short for Port Macquarie.

PORT
Proper noun
  1. (police in AU) Abbreviation of Public Order Response Team



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