Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To hold or carry (a weapon) diagonally across the body, with the muzzle or blade near the left shoulder.
  • noun The position of a rifle or other weapon when ported.
  • noun The manner in which one carries oneself; bearing.
  • noun A rich sweet fortified wine.
  • noun The left-hand side of a ship or aircraft facing forward.
  • adjective Of, relating to, or on the port.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To turn (a craft) or make a shift to the port side.
  • noun An opening in a ship's side providing access to the interior.
  • noun A porthole.
  • noun Archaic A cover for a porthole.
  • noun An opening, as in a cylinder or valve face, for the passage of steam or fluid.
  • noun A hole in an armored vehicle or a fortified structure for viewing or for firing weapons.
  • noun An entrance to or exit from a data network.
  • noun A connection point for a peripheral device.
  • noun Scots A gateway or portal, as to a town.
  • transitive verb Computers To modify (software) for use on a different machine or platform.
  • noun A place on a waterway with facilities for loading and unloading ships.
  • noun A city or town on a waterway with such facilities.
  • noun The waterfront district of a city.
  • noun A place along a coast that gives ships and boats protection from storms and rough water; a harbor.
  • noun A port of entry.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To carry or bring into port.
  • To bear; carry; convey.
  • To carry in military fashion; carry (a weapon, as a rifle) with both hands in a slanting direction upward and toward the left, crossing the body in front, in execution of the military command “Portarms,” or, as now given, “Arms port.”
  • noun A bay, cove, inlet, or recess of the sea, or of a lake or the mouth of a river, where vessels can be protected from storms; a harbor or haven, whether natural or artificial.
  • noun A place where there is a constant resort of vessels for the purpose of loading and unloading; specifically, in law, a place where persons and merchandise are allowed to pass into and out of the realm and at which customs officers are stationed for the purpose of inspecting or appraising imported goods. In this sense a port may exist on the frontier, where the foreign communication is by land.
  • noun Bearing; carriage; demeanor; air; mien: as, the port of a gentleman.
  • noun State: style; establishment; retinue.
  • noun Synonyms Deportment, address.
  • Nautical, to turn or shift to the left or larboard side of a ship: as, to port the helm (that is, to shift the tiller over to the port or left side).
  • Nautical, to turn or shift to the left or larboard, as a ship.
  • To furnish with doors or gates.
  • noun A gate; an entrance; a portal; specifically, the gate of a town or fortress.
  • noun An opening in the side of a ship; specifically, an embrasure in the side of a ship of war, through which cannon are pointed; a port-hole; also, the covering or shutter of such an opening.
  • noun In heraldry, the door or gate of a castle, used as a bearing.
  • noun An aperture for the passage of Steam, air, water, etc.
  • noun In harness, a curved piece of metal used as a mouthpiece in some forms of bit. Such a bit is called a port-bit.
  • noun In armor, the socket or bucket in which the butt of the lance was set when held upright: it was secured to the saddle or stirrup.
  • noun Martial music adapted to the bagpipes.
  • noun Nautical, the larboard or left side of a ship (when one is looking forward): as, “the ship heels to port”; “hard a port.”
  • noun A wine of Portugal, named from Oporto (see above).
  • noun An abbreviation of Portugal and Portuguese.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A dark red or purple astringent wine made in Portugal. It contains a large percentage of alcohol.
  • noun A place where ships may ride secure from storms; a sheltered inlet, bay, or cove; a harbor; a haven. Used also figuratively.
  • noun In law and commercial usage, a harbor where vessels are admitted to discharge and receive cargoes, from whence they depart and where they finish their voyages.
  • noun See under Free.
  • noun (Naut,) A bar, as of sand, at the mouth of, or in, a port.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Oporto.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, gate, porthole, from Old French porte, gate, from Latin porta; see per- in Indo-European roots.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French porter, to carry, from Old French, from Latin portāre; see per- in Indo-European roots. N., Middle English porte, from Old French port, from porter, to carry.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably from port side, from port.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English, from Latin portus; see per- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English port, from Latin portus ("port, harbour").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Abbreviation of portmanteau.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Named from Portuguese Oporto, a city in Portugal from whence the wines were originally shipped.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin porta ("passage, gate"), reinforced in Middle English, from Old French porte.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French porter, from Latin portare ("carry"). Akin to transport, portable.

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