port

port · noun, adjective, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
2. Proto-Indo-European*pértus
3. Proto-Italic*portus
4. Latinportus
5. Old Englishport
6. English todayport

From Old English port, borrowed from Latin portus (“port, harbour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”) (and thus a distant doublet of ford). The directional sense, attested since at least the 1500s, derives from ancient vessels with the steering oar on the right (see etymology of starboard), which therefore had to moor with their left sides facing the dock or wharf. Doublet of fjard, fjord, firth, ford, and Portus.

port · noun²

1. Old French · derived fromporte
2. Latin · derived fromporta“passage, gate”
3. Old English · inherited fromport
4. English todayport

Inherited from the Old English port, from the Latin porta (“passage, gate”), reinforced by the Old French porte. Doublet of porta.

port · verb, noun³

1. Latin · derived fromportāre“carry”
2. Old French · derived fromporter
3. English todayport

From Old French porter, from Latin portāre (“carry”). Akin to transport, portable.

port · noun⁴

1. Portuguese · derived fromPorto
2. English todayport

Named from Portuguese Porto, a city in Portugal where the wines were originally shipped from.

port · noun⁵

Clipping of portmanteau.

port · noun⁶

Clipping of portfolio.

Port · proper noun⁷

Shortened form of Portsmouth.

Port · proper noun⁸

Clipping of Port Adelaide.

Port · proper noun⁹

Clipping of Port Macquarie.

Port · proper noun¹⁰

Shortened form of Portugal

Words from the same roots