King James Bible Dictionary

PORT, noun [Latin portus, porto, to carry; Latin fero; Eng. to bear.]

1. A harbor; a haven; any bay, cove, inlet or recess of the sea or of a lake or the mouth of a river, which ships or vessels can enter, and where they can lie safe from injury by storms. Ports may be natural or artificial, and sometimes works of art, as piers and moles, are added to the natural shores of a place to render a harbor more safe. The word port is generally applied to spacious harbors much resorted to be ships, as the port of London or of Boston, and not to small bays or coves which are entered occasionally, or in stress of weather only. Harbor includes all places of safety for shipping.

2. A gate. [Latin porta.]

From their ivory port the cherubim

Forth issued.

3. An embrasure or opening in the side of a ship of war, through which cannon are discharged; a port-hole.

4. The lid which shuts a port-hole.

5. Carriage; air; mien; manner of movement or walk; demeanor; external appearance; as a proud port; the port of a gentleman.

Their port was more than human.

With more terrific port

Thou walkest.

6. In seamen's language, the larboard or left side of a ship; as in the phrase, 'the ship heels to port ' 'Port the helm, ' is an order to put the helm to the larboard side.

7. A kind of wine made in Portugal; so called from Oporto.

of the voice, in music, the faculty or habit of making the shakes, passages and diminutions, in which the beauty of a song consists.

PORT, verb transitive To carry in form; as ported spears.

1. To turn or put to the left or larboard side of a ship. See the noun, No.6. It is used in the imperative.

PORTABLE, adjective [Latin porto, to carry.]

1. That may be carried by the hand or about the person, on horseback, or in a traveling vehicle; not bulky or heavy; that may be easily conveyed from place to place with one's traveling baggage; as a portable bureau or secretary.

2. That may be carried from place to place.

3. That may be borne along with one.

The pleasure of the religious man is an easy and portable pleasure.

4. Sufferable; supportable. [Not in use.]

PORTABLENESS, noun The quality of being portable.

PORTAGE, noun The act of carrying.

1. The price of carriage.

2. A port-hole. [Unusual.]

3. A carrying place over land between navigable waters.

PORTAL, noun In architecture, a little gate, where there are two gates of different dimensions.

1. A little square corner of a room, separated from the rest by a wainscot, and forming a short passage into a room.

2. A kind of arch of joiner's work before a door.

3. A gate; an opening for entrance; as the portals of heaven.

PORTANCE, noun Air; mien; carriage; port; demeanor.

PORTASS, noun A breviary; a prayer book. [portuis, porthose.]

[Not used.]

PORTATIVE, adjective Portable. [Not used.]

PORT-BAR, noun A bar to secure the ports of a ship in a gale of wind.

Port-charges, in commerce, charges to which a ship or its cargo is subjected in a harbor, as wharfage, etc.

PORT-CRAYON, noun A pencil-case.

PORTCUL'LIS, noun [Latin clausus.] In fortification, an assemblage of timbers joined across one another, like those of a harrow, and each pointed with iron; hung over the gateway of a fortified town, to be let down in case of surprise, to prevent the entrance of an enemy.

PORTCUL'LIS, verb transitive To shut; to bar; to obstruct.

PORTCUL'LISED, adjective Having a portcullis.

PORTE, noun The Ottoman court, so called from the gate of the Sultan's palace where justice is administered; as the Sublime porte

PORTED, adjective Having gates. [Not used.]

1. Borne in a certain or regular order.

PORTEND', verb transitive [Latin portendo; por; Eng. fore, and tendo, to stretch.] To foreshow; to foretoken; to indicate something future by previous signs.

A moist and cool summer portends a hard winter.

PORTEND'ED, participle passive Foreshown; previously indicated by signs.

PORTEND'ING, participle present tense Foreshowing.

PORTEN'SION, noun The act of foreshowing. [Not in use.]

PORTENT', noun [Latin portentum.] An omen of ill; any previous sign or prodigy indicating the approach of evil or calamity.

My loss by dire portents the god foretold.

PORTENT'OUS, adjective [Latin portentosus.] Ominous; foreshowing ill. Ignorance and superstition hold meteors to be portentous

1. Monstrous; prodigious; wonderful; in an ill sense.

No beast of more portentous size,

In the Hercynian forest lies.

A gate-keeper (2 Samuel 18:26; 2 Kings 7:10; 1 Chronicles 9:21; 2 Chronicles 8:14). Of the Levites, 4,000 were appointed as porters by David (1 Chronicles 23:5), who were arranged according to their families (26:1-19) to take charge of the doors and gates of the temple. They were sometimes employed as musicians (1 Chronicles 15:18).

This word when used in the Authorized Version does not bear its modern signification of a carrier of burdens, but denotes in every case a gate-keeper, from the Latin portarius , the man who attended to the porta or gate.

PORTER, noun [Latin porta, a gate.]

1. A man that has the charge of a door or gate; a door-keeper.

2. One that waits at the door to receive messages.

3. [Latin porto.] A carrier; a person who carries or conveys burdens for hire.

4. A malt liquor which differs from ale and pale beer, in being made with high dried malt.

PORTERAGE, noun Money charged or paid for the carriage of burdens by a porter.

1. The business of a porter or door-keeper.

PORTERESS, noun [from porter.] A female guardian of a gate.

PORTERLY, adjective Coarse; vulgar. [Little used.]

Guards at the city gates, the doors of the king's palace, and doors of the temple
1 Chronicles 9:17-32; 2 Chronicles 34:13; 2 Chronicles 35:15

Lodged round about the temple in order to be present for opening the doors
1 Chronicles 9:27

One-third were porters of the temple
2 Chronicles 23:4

One-third were porters of the king's house
2 Chronicles 23:5

One-third were porters of the Gate of the Foundation
2 Chronicles 23:5

They served, also, as porters of the gates of the walls
Nehemiah 12:25

They served in twenty-four courses
1 Chronicles 26:13-19

Their posts were determined by lot
1 Chronicles 24:31; 1 Chronicles 26:13-19

PORTESSE. [See Portass.]

PORT-FIRE, noun A composition for setting fire to powder, etc. frequently used in preference to a match. It is wet or dry. The wet is composed of saltpeter, four parts, of sulphur one, and of mealed powder four; mixed and sifted, moistened with a little lintseed oil, and well rubbed. The dry is composed of saltpeter, four parts, sulphur one, mealed powder two, and antimony one. These compositions are driven into small papers for use.

PORTFOLIO, noun [Latin folium.] A case of the size of a large book, to keep loose papers in.

To have or hold the portfolio is to hold the office of minister of foreign affairs.

PORTGLAVE, noun A sword-bearer. [Not in use.]

PORTGRAVE

PORTGREVE

PORTICO, noun [Latin porticus, form porta or portus.] In architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground, or a piazza encompassed with arches supported by columns; a covered walk. The roof is sometimes flat; sometimes vaulted.

PORT-HOLE, noun [port and hole.]

The embrasure of a ship of war. [See Port.]

PORTION, noun [Latin portio, from partio, to divide, from pars, part. See Part.]

1. In general, a part of any thing separated from it. Hence,

2. A part, though not actually divided, but considered by itself.

These are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him. Job 26:14.

3. A part assigned; an allotment; a dividend.

How small

A portion to your share would fall.

The priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh. Genesis 47:22.

4. The part of an estate given to a child or heir, or descending to him by law, and distributed to him in the settlement of the estate.

5. A wife's fortune.

PORTION, verb transitive To divide; to parcel; to allot a share or shares.

And portion to his tribes the wide domain.

1. To endow.

Him portion'd maids, apprentic'd orphans blest.

PORTIONED, participle passive Divided into shares or parts.

1. Endowed; furnished with a portion.

PORTIONER, noun One who divides or assigns in shares.

PORTIONING, participle present tense Dividing; endowing.

PORTIONIST, noun One who has a certain academical allowance or portion.

1. The incumbent of a benefice which has more rectors or vicars than one.

PORTLAND-STONE, noun A compact sandstone from the isle of Portland in England, which forms a calcarious cement.

PORTLAST

PORTLID, noun The lid that closes a porthole.

PORTLINESS, noun [from portly.] Dignity of mien or of personal appearance, consisting in size and symmetry of body, with dignified manners and demeanor.

PORTLY, adjective [from port.] Grand or dignified in mien; of a noble appearance and carriage.

1. Bulky; corpulent.

PORT-MAN, noun [port and man.] An inhabitant or burgess, as of a cinque port.

PORTMAN'TEAU, noun [Latin mantele.] A bag usually made of leather, for carrying apparel and other furniture on journeys, particularly on horseback.

PORT-MOTE, noun Anciently, a court held in a port town.

PORTOISE. [See Portlast.]

PORTOISE, noun The gunwale of a ship.

To lower the yards a portlast, is to lower them to the gunwale.

To ride a portoise is to have the lower yards and top-masts struck or lowered down, when at anchor in a gale of wind.

PORTRAIT, noun [Eng. to portray; pour; for, fore, and traire; Latin trahere; Eng. to draw.] A picture or representation of a person, and especially of a face, drawn from the life.

In portraits, the grace, and we may add, the likeness, consist more in the general air than in the exact similitude of every feature.

PORTRAIT, verb transitive To portray; to draw. [Not used.]

PORTRAITURE, noun A portrait; painted resemblance.

PORTRA'Y, verb transitive

1. To paint or draw the likeness of any thing in colors; as, to portray a king on horseback; to portray a city or temple with a pencil or with chalk.

2. To describe in words. It belongs to the historian to portray the character of Alexander of Russia. Homer portrays the character and achievements of his heroes in glowing colors.

3. To adorn with pictures; as shields portrayed.

PORTRA'YED, participle passive Painted or drawn to the life; described.

PORTRA'YER, noun One who paints, draws to the life or describes.

PORTRA'YING, participle present tense Painting or drawing the likeness of; describing.

PORTREEVE, noun [Latin portus, a port.] Formerly, the chief magistrate of a port or maritime town. This officer is now called mayor or bailiff.

PORTRESS

PORTREVE, noun [The modern orthography of portgreve, which see.]

The chief magistrate of a port or maritime town.

PORT-ROPE, noun A rope to draw up a portlid.