porte-cochère

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A carriage entrance leading through a building or wall into an inner courtyard.
2. n. A roofed structure covering a driveway at the entrance of a building to provide shelter while entering or leaving a vehicle.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A carriage-entrance in a building; a gate and passage for carriages leading through a building, as a town-house or hotel, from the street to an interior court.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Arch.) A large doorway allowing vehicles to drive into or through a building. It is common to have the entrance door open upon the passage of the porte-cochère. Also, a porch over a driveway before an entrance door.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a carriage entrance passing through a building to an enclosed courtyard
2. n. canopy extending out from a building entrance to shelter those getting in and out of vehicles