portage

plural portages

1. countableuncountableAn act of carrying, especially the carrying of a boat overland between two waterways.
2. countableuncountableThe route used for such carrying.
3. countableuncountableA charge made for carrying something.

   gaining thereby the charge of portage; was a great benefit to them

   1661, John Fell, The life of the most learned, reverend, and pious Dr. H. Hammond

4. countableuncountableCarrying capacity; tonnage.

   Onely the shippe that came thither payde a small thing according to her portage, aud euery yeere in the port of Orisa were laden fiue and twentie or thirtie ships great and smal with ryce and diuers sortes of fine white bumbaste cloth[…]

   1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC

5. countableuncountableThe wages paid to a sailor when in port, or for a voyage.
6. countableuncountableA porthole.

   Then lend the eye a terrible aspect; Let pry through the portage of the head Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it As fearfully as doth a galled rock O'erhang and jutty his confounded base, Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.

   1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]

present singular third person portages · participle present portaging · participle past portaged · past portaged

1. transitivenauticalTo carry a boat overland.

   You’d better leave it to him to decide whether it’s worth lumping a canoe along and portageing.

   1958, Hammond Innes, “The Labrador Railway”, in The Land God Gave to Cain: A Novel of the Labrador, London: Collins […], page 171

   2 more examples

   Two months have now elapsed since the work was first begun, viz: from the 20th of last December to the 20th instant, fully one month of which has been occupied in exploring, and the remainder in camping, portageing and measuring; […]

   1858 February 22, G. F. Baillargé, “I.”, in General Report of the Commissioners of Public Works, for the Year Ending 31st December, 1857: Furnished in Compliance with the Provisions of the Act, 9 Vict. Cap. 7, Toronto, Ont.: John Lovell, […], pages 74–75

   Those who haven’t experienced an overnight canoe trip can’t imagine the joys, tensions and learning packed into three days of canoeing, portageing, cooking meals in the open and sleeping under the stars.

   1996, Edward Mann, “Camp Counsellor”, in A Mann for All Seasons: A Memoir, Toronto, Ont.: Lugus Publications, →ISBN, page 28

1. A community in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
2. A settlement in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
3. A number of places in the United States:
   1. A ghost town and former settlement in Alaska, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1964.
   2. A city in Portage Township, Porter County, Indiana.
   3. A village in the town of Portage Lake, Aroostook County, Maine.
   4. A city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
   5. A town in Livingston County, New York.
   6. A village in Wood County, Ohio.
   7. A home rule borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
   8. A small town in Box Elder County, Utah, named after Portage County in Ohio.
   9. A city, the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin.
   10. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Portage Township.
4. A small settlement in the Marlborough Sounds, Marlborough, New Zealand.