port1

[pawrt, pohrt] /pɔrt, poʊrt/
noun
1.
a city, town, or other place where ships load or unload.
2.
a place along a coast in which ships may take refuge from storms; harbor.
3.
Also called port of entry. Law. any place where persons and merchandise are allowed to pass, by water or land, into and out of a country and where customs officers are stationed to inspect or appraise imported goods.
4.
a geographical area that forms a harbor:
the largest port on the eastern seaboard.
5.
Informal. an airport.
Origin
before 900; Middle English, Old English < Latin portus harbor, haven; akin to ford
Related forms
portless, adjective
Synonyms
2. anchorage. See harbor.

port2

[pawrt, pohrt] /pɔrt, poʊrt/
noun
1.
the left-hand side of a vessel or aircraft, facing forward.
adjective
2.
pertaining to or designating port.
3.
located on the left side of a vessel or aircraft.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
4.
to turn or shift to the port, or left, side.
Origin
1570-80; special use of port4

port3

[pawrt, pohrt] /pɔrt, poʊrt/
noun
1.
any of a class of very sweet wines, mostly dark-red, originally from Portugal.
Origin
1695-95; earlier Oporto, (Port) O Port < Portuguese Oporto Oporto, the main port of shipment for the wines of Portugal

port4

[pawrt, pohrt] /pɔrt, poʊrt/
noun
1.
an opening in the side or other exterior part of a ship for admitting air and light or for taking on cargo.
Compare porthole (def 1).
2.
Machinery. an aperture in the surface of a cylinder, for the passage of steam, air, water, etc.
3.
a small aperture in an armored vehicle, aircraft, or fortification through which a gun can be fired or a camera directed.
4.
Computers. a data connection in a computer to which a peripheral device or a transmission line from a remote terminal can be attached.
5.
the raised center portion on a bit for horses.
6.
Chiefly Scot. a gate or portal, as to a town or fortress.
verb (used with object)
7.
Computers. to create a new version of (an application program) to run on a different hardware platform (sometimes followed by over).
Origin
before 950; Middle English, Old English < Latin porta gate; akin to portus port1

port5

[pawrt, pohrt] /pɔrt, poʊrt/
verb (used with object)
1.
Military. to carry (a rifle or other weapon) with both hands, in a slanting direction across the front of the body, with the barrel or like part near the left shoulder.
noun
2.
Military. the position of a rifle or other weapon when ported.
3.
Archaic. manner of bearing oneself; carriage or deportment.
Origin
1560-70; < French porter < Latin portāre to carry; see fare

Port.

1.
Portugal.
2.
Portuguese.
Examples from the web for port
  • Discusses the area's shift from a major shipping port to a place known for leisure and entertainment.
  • Boat owners may want to take their vessels out to sea if there is time and they are allowed to do so by port authorities.
  • So I live in a dorm on my college campus and they have special issued wireless routers with certain ports blocked.
  • There is a lot of activity in this port.
  • The golden flan, kissed with port, melts in your mouth.
  • Meanwhile, out on the horizon, frustrated commercial fishermen head for port on boats with empty nets and holds.
  • Alaska's ferocious mosquitoes shouldn't bother you too much on board, but carry insect repellent for port calls.
  • Thirty-three days later, the ship returned to a port in northern Chile.
  • Cable the bridge to the television's Ethernet port.
  • Another scar on his chest marks the spot where surgeons implanted a small port to deliver chemotherapy.
British Dictionary definitions for port

port1

/pɔːt/
noun
1.
a town or place alongside navigable water with facilities for the loading and unloading of ships
2.
See port of entry
Word Origin
Old English, from Latin portus harbour, port

port2

/pɔːt/
noun
1.
Also called (formerly) larboard
  1. the left side of an aircraft or vessel when facing the nose or bow
  2. (as modifier): the port bow Compare starboard (sense 1)
verb
2.
to turn or be turned towards the port
Word Origin
C17: origin uncertain

port3

/pɔːt/
noun
1.
a sweet fortified dessert wine
Word Origin
C17: after Oporto, Portugal, from where it came originally

port4

/pɔːt/
noun
1.
(nautical)
  1. an opening in the side of a ship, fitted with a watertight door, for access to the holds
  2. See porthole (sense 1)
2.
a small opening in a wall, armoured vehicle, etc, for firing through
3.
an aperture, esp one controlled by a valve, by which fluid enters or leaves the cylinder head of an engine, compressor, etc
4.
(electronics) a logic circuit for the input and ouput of data
5.
(mainly Scot) a gate or portal in a town or fortress
Word Origin
Old English, from Latin porta gate

port5

/pɔːt/
verb
1.
(transitive) to carry (a rifle, etc) in a position diagonally across the body with the muzzle near the left shoulder
noun
2.
this position
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from porter to carry, from Latin portāre

port6

/pɔːt/
verb
1.
(transitive) (computing) to change (programs) from one system to another
Word Origin
C20: probably from port4

port7

/pɔːt/
noun
1.
(Austral) (esp in Queensland) a suitcase or school case
Word Origin
C20: shortened from portmanteau

Port.

abbreviation
1.
Portugal
2.
Portuguese
Word Origin and History for port
n.

"harbor," Old English port "harbor, haven," reinforced by Old French port "harbor, port; mountain pass;" Old English and Old French words both from Latin portus "port, harbor," originally "entrance, passage," figuratively "place of refuge, assylum," from PIE *prtu- "a going, a passage," from root *per- (2) "to lead, pass over" (cf. Sanskrit parayati "carries over;" Greek poros "journey, passage, way," peirein "to pierce, run through;" Latin porta "gate, door," portare "passage," peritus "experienced;" Avestan peretush "passage, ford, bridge;" Armenian hordan "go forward;" Welsh rhyd "ford;" Old Church Slavonic pariti "to fly;" Old English faran "to go, journey," Old Norse fjörðr "inlet, estuary").

Meaning "left side of a ship" (looking forward from the stern) is attested from 1540s, from notion of "the side facing the harbor" (when a ship is docked). It replaced larboard in common usage to avoid confusion with starboard; officially so by Admiralty order of 1844 and U.S. Navy Department notice of 1846. Figurative sense "place of refuge" is attested from early 15c.; phrase any port in a storm first recorded 1749. A port of call (1810) is one paid a scheduled visit by a ship.

"gateway," Old English port "portal, door, gate, entrance," from Old French porte "gate, entrance," from Latin porta "city gate, gate; door, entrance," from PIE root *per- (see port (n.1)). Specific meaning "porthole, opening in the side of a ship" is attested from c.1300.

"bearing, mien," c.1300, from Old French port, from porter "to carry," from Latin portare (see port (n.1)).

type of sweet dark-red wine, 1690s, shortened from Oporto, city in northwest Portugal from which the wine originally was shipped to England; from O Porto "the port;" (see port (n.1)).

v.

"to carry," from Middle French porter, from Latin portare "to carry" (see port (n.1)). Related: Ported; porting.

port in Science
port
  (pôrt)   

  1. An opening, as in a cylinder or valve face, for the passage of steam or fluid.

  2. A place where data can pass into or out of a central processing unit, computer, or peripheral. With central processing units, a port is a fixed set of connections for incoming and outgoing data or instructions. With computers and peripherals, a port is generally a socket into which a connector can be plugged.


port in Technology

1. A logical channel or channel endpoint in a communications system. The Transmission Control Protocol and User Datagram Protocol transport layer protocols used on Ethernet use port numbers to distinguish between (demultiplex) different logical channels on the same network interface on a computer.
Each application program has a unique port number associated with it, defined in /etc/services or the Network Information Service "services" database. Some protocols, e.g. telnet and HTTP (which is actually a special form of telnet) have default ports specified as above but can use other ports as well.
Some port numbers are defined in RFC 3232 (which replaces RFC 1700). Ports are now divided into: "Well Known" or "Privileged", and "Ephemeral" or "Unprivileged" (comprising "Registered", "Dynamic", "Private").
(2004-12-30)
2. To translate or modify software to run on a different platform, or the results of doing so. The portability of the software determines how easy it is to port.
3. An imperative language descended from Zed from Waterloo Microsystems (now Hayes Canada) ca. 1979.
["Port Language" document in the Waterloo Port Development System].
(2002-06-19)
Related Abbreviations for port

port.

  1. portable
  2. portrait

Port.

  1. Portugal
  2. Portuguese
Idioms and Phrases with port

port

see: any port in a storm