porte-crayon

noun

An instrument (typically a metallic tube with a clasp) used to hold a pencil, lead etc. for drawing.

OriginFrench porte-crayon →
First used 18th c.
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Meanings

nounporte-crayon (plural porte-crayons)

plural porte-crayons · alternative port-crayon · alternative portcrayon

  1. historicalAn instrument (typically a metallic tube with a clasp) used to hold a pencil, lead etc. for drawing.First known use 18th c.

    Kauffman's figure holds a porte-crayon and a tablet, on which she has sketched the allegorical image of Prudence […].

    1992, Wendy Wassyng Roworth, Angelica Kauffman, Reaktion Books, published 1992, page 72

Origin

  1. Frenchporte-crayon
  2. Englishporte-crayon

From French porte-crayon, from porter (“to carry”) + crayon (“a crayon”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

porte-crayon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/porte-crayon

MLA

“porte-crayon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/porte-crayon. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “porte-crayon,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/porte-crayon.

Source: porte-crayon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.