portal1

[pawr-tl, pohr-] /ˈpɔr tl, ˈpoʊr-/
noun
1.
a door, gate, or entrance, especially one of imposing appearance, as to a palace.
2.
an iron or steel bent for bracing a framed structure, having curved braces between the vertical members and a horizontal member at the top.
3.
an entrance to a tunnel or mine.
4.
Computers. a website that functions as an entry point to the Internet, as by providing useful content and linking to various sites and features on the World Wide Web.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English portale < Medieval Latin, noun use of neuter of portālis of a gate. See portal2
Related forms
portaled, portalled, adjective
Synonyms
1. entranceway, doorway, entry, threshold.

portal2

[pawr-tl, pohr-] /ˈpɔr tl, ˈpoʊr-/
adjective
1.
noting or pertaining to the transverse fissure of the liver.
noun
2.
portal vein.
Origin
1605-15; < Medieval Latin portālis of a gate. See port4, -al1
Examples from the web for portal
  • Accustomed to portal environments, subscribers misunderstand requests for information at individual sites.
  • We've become a major portal for all kinds of students to enter higher education.
  • GM is saying that it intends to keep control of the portal rather than spin it off in a public offering.
  • So, a magazine for the moneyed plans a gilded portal.
  • Your radiologist will use the stent to connect your portal vein to one of your hepatic veins.
  • First, it is much cheaper to support a web portal than a brick-and-mortar school.
  • It will surely come-certainly on the educational portal the government is planning.
  • Orders flow through a web portal and bids can be solicited from pre-qualified suppliers.
  • High-profile political bloggers create a portal highlighting the day's hottest content.
  • It accompanies the hepatic artery, ramifying upon its branches, and upon those of the portal vein in the substance of the liver.
British Dictionary definitions for portal

portal

/ˈpɔːtəl/
noun
1.
an entrance, gateway, or doorway, esp one that is large and impressive
2.
any entrance or access to a place
3.
(computing) an internet site providing links to other sites
adjective
4.
(anatomy)
  1. of or relating to a portal vein: hepatic portal system
  2. of or relating to a porta
Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Medieval Latin portāle, from Latin porta gate, entrance
Word Origin and History for portal
n.

late 14c., "gate, gateway," from Old French portal "gate" (Modern French portail) and directly from Medieval Latin portale "city gate, porch," from neuter of portalis (adj.) "of a gate," from Latin porta "gate" (see port (n.1)).

portal in Medicine

portal por·tal (pôr'tl)
adj.

  1. Of or relating to a porta or hilum.

  2. Of or relating to the portal vein or the portal system.

  3. Of or relating to a point of entrance to an organ, especially the transverse fissure of the liver, through which the blood vessels enter.

n.

  1. The portal vein.

  2. The point of entry into the body of a pathogenic microorganism.

portal in Culture

portal definition


A Web site that provides a gateway to other Web sites.

portal in Technology


Process-Oriented Real-Time Algorithmic Language.
["PORTAL - A Pascal-based Real-Time Programming Language", R. Schild in Algorithmic Languages, J.W. deBakker et al eds, N-H 1981].

World-Wide Web
A website that aims to be an entry point to the World-Wide Web, typically offering a search engine and/or links to useful pages, and possibly news or other services. These services are usually provided for free in the hope that users will make the site their default home page or at least visit it often. Popular examples are Yahoo and MSN. Most portals on the Internet exist to generate advertising income for their owners, others may be focused on a specific group of users and may be part of an intranet or extranet. Some may just concentrate on one particular subject, say technology or medicine, and are known as a vertical portals.
(2001-07-07)