Meanings
alternative Ottoman Porte · alternative Sublime Porte
- historicalThe Ottoman court; (hence), the government of the Ottoman empire.First known use 15th c.
Another odd Combination: 'tis now confidently asserted that the Ottoman Porte enters into a League offensive & defensive with France […].
1793 February 20, Hester Piozzi, Thraliana2 more examples
A hired diplomat in Edirne and to the Porte in Constantinople, a military commander in the Austro-Turkish wars, a polyhistor and a learned man.
1988, Milorad Pavić, translated by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, Dictionary of the Khazars, Vintage, published 1989, page 24The Ottoman defenders in Edirne (ancient Adrianople, a city in modern Turkey near Greece and Bulgaria) were left surrounded and under siege when the Porte sued for an armistice in early December 1912.
2015, Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans, Penguin, published 2016, page 19
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ottoman Turkishباب عالی“Exalted Gate”
- Middle Frenchporte“gate”
- EnglishPorte
From Middle French porte (“gate”), ultimately after Ottoman Turkish باب عالی (Bâb-ı Âli, “Exalted Gate”), from Arabic بَاب (bāb, “gate”) and عَالِيّ (ʕāliyy, “high, exalted”), a synecdoche for the Ottoman government originally referring to the outer gate of the sultan's Topkapı palace at which justice was administered, and later to the gate of the palace of the grand vizier.
More words from Middle French, Ottoman Turkish
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Porte. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Porte
“Porte.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Porte. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Porte,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Porte.
Source: Porte on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.