porter definition

English porter definition

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɹtɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔːtə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /ˈpo(ː)ɹtɚ/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /ˈpoətə/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English porter, portere, portier, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French porteor, from Late Latin portātor, from past participle of Latin portāre (“to carry”).

Noun

porter (plural porters)

1. A person who carries luggage and related objects.

   By the time I reached the train station I was exhausted, but fortunately there was a porter waiting.

2. (entomology) An ant having the specialized role of carrying.
3. (computing) One who ports software (makes it usable on another platform).

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English porter, portere, portare, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French portier, from Late Latin portarius (“gatekeeper”), from Latin porta (“gate”).

Noun

porter (plural porters)

1. A person in control of the entrance to a building.
2. (bowling) An employee who clears and cleans tables and puts bowling balls away.
3. (beer) A strong, dark ale, originally favored by porters (etymology 1, sense 1), similar to a stout but less strong.

   Coordinate term: stout

4. (beer, Ireland) Stout (malt brew).
   • 1914 June, James Joyce, “Counterparts”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, OCLC 1170255194, page 107:

     “Here, Pat, give us a g.p., like a good fellow.” The curate brought him a glass of plain porter. The man drank it at a gulp and asked for a caraway seed.

Derived terms

• portership

Translations

Verb

porter (third-person singular simple present porters, present participle portering, simple past and past participle portered)

1. To serve as a porter; to carry.

Anagrams

• Perrot, perrot, porret, pretor, proter, report, troper

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Catalan porter definition

Etymology

From porta +‎ -er or from Old Catalan porter, from Late Latin portārius, from Latin porta. Compare French portier.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /poɾˈte/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /purˈte/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /poɾˈteɾ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

porter m (plural porters)

1. doorman, doorkeeper, gatekeeper
2. (sports) goalkeeper

Derived terms

• porteria

Related terms

• porta

Further reading

• “porter” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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French porter definition

Etymology 1

From Old French porter, from Latin portāre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“go, traverse”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔʁ.te/

• audio

  (file)

Verb

porter

1. to carry
2. to support, to bear
3. to wear
4. (transitive with sur) to be about, to concern

   Sur quoi portait la question ? ― What was the question concerning?

5. (reflexive, se porter) to feel, to carry one's self

   Je me porte mieux. ― I am feeling better.

   Il se porte bien. ― He's in good health.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

From English porter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔʁ.tɛʁ/
• Homophone: portèrent

Noun

porter m (plural porters)

1. porter (beer)
   • 1884, Joris-Karl Huysmans, chapter XI, in À rebours [Against the Grain]:

     il […] étancha sa soif avec le porter, cette bière noire qui sent le jus de réglisse dépouillé de sucre.

     He quenched his thirst with some porter, that dark beer which smells of unsweetened liquorice.

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• Perrot

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Ladin porter definition

Etymology

From Latin portāre, present active infinitive of portō (“bring, carry”).

Verb

porter

1. to carry

Conjugation

• Ladin conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

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Latin porter definition

Verb

porter

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of portō

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Middle English porter definition

Alternative forms

• portare, porteour, portere, portir, portor, portour

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman porter, portour, from a combination of Late Latin portārius and portātor, portātōrem; equivalent to port +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔrtər/, /pɔrˈteːr/

Noun

porter (plural porters)

1. gatekeeper, doorkeeper

Descendants

• English: porter
• Yola: porther

References

• “portē̆r, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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Middle French porter definition

Etymology

From Old French porter, from Latin portō, portāre.

Verb

porter

1. to carry

   porter la banniere

   to carry the banner

Conjugation

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Descendants

• French: porter

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Norman porter definition

Alternative forms

• portaïr (Guernsey)

Etymology

From Old French porter, from Latin portō, portāre.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey)

  (file)

Verb

porter

1. (Jersey) to carry
2. (Jersey) to wear

Derived terms

• porter un coup (“to strike”)
• portchi (“porter”)

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Norwegian Bokmål porter definition

Noun

porter m

1. indefinite plural of port

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Old French porter definition

Etymology

From Latin portāre, present active infinitive of portō.

Verb

porter

1. to carry

   porter la baniere

   to carry the banner

2. to carry a child (to be pregnant)

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-ts, *-tt are modified to z, t. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

Related terms

• portour

Descendants

• Middle French: porter
  • French: porter

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Romanian porter definition

Etymology

From English porter or French porter.

Noun

porter n (uncountable)

1. porter (beer)

Declension