Meanings
nounportolan (plural portolans)
plural portolans · alternative portolano · alternative portulan
- historicalnauticalA chart of European navigable waters based on descriptions of coasts.First known use 18th c.
Portolans are as old as the European mariner's magnetic compass, and for about two centuries the two depended on each other for the growth and safe passage of Mediterranean trade.
2012, Simon Garfield, On the Map, Profile Books, page 110
Origin
- Italianportolano
- Frenchportulan
- Englishportolan
From French portulan, from Italian portolano.
More words from French, Italian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan portolà
- portolàchart of European navigable waters
French portulan
- portulanchart of European navigable waters
German Portolan
- Portolanchart of European navigable waters
Italian portolano
- portolanochart of European navigable waters
Polish portolan
- portolanchart of European navigable waters
Portuguese portulano
- portulanochart of European navigable waters
Spanish portulano
- portulanochart of European navigable waters
Turkish portolan
- portolanchart of European navigable waters
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
portolan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portolan
MLA
“portolan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portolan. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “portolan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portolan.
Source: portolan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.