porter
UK /ˈpɔːtə/ · US /ˈpɔɹtɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms porters portering portered
- noun A person who carries luggage and related objects; (historically) one who carried luggage or did manual labour in the transloading of cargo. “goods porter”
- noun (entomology) An ant having the specialized role of carrying.
- noun (computing) One who ports software (makes it usable on another platform).
- noun (countable) A person in control of the entrance to a building.
- noun (countable, bowling) An employee who clears and cleans tables and puts bowling balls away.
- noun (countable, uncountable, beer) A strong, dark ale, originally favored by porters (etymology 1, sense 1), similar to a stout but less strong.
- noun (beer, Ireland) Stout (malt brew).
- verb To serve as a porter; to carry.
- proper noun A surname originating as an occupation.
- proper noun A unisex given name.
- proper noun A town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana.
- proper noun A town and village in Oxford County, Maine.
- proper noun A minor city in Yellow Medicine County and Lincoln County, Minnesota.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Scott County, Missouri.
- proper noun A town in Niagara County, New York, named after Augustus Porter.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Gallia County, Ohio.
Synonyms
doorkeeper doorman door guard hall porter gatekeeper ostiary Katherine Anne Porter Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter William Sydney Porter O. Henry Pullman porter porter's beer
Etymology
From Middle English porter, portere, portier, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French porteor, from Late Latin portātor, from past participle of Latin portāre (“to carry”). By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -er.
From Middle English porter, portere, portare, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French portier, from Late Latin portarius (“gatekeeper”), from Latin porta (“gate”).
From Middle English Porter, from porter (“porter”),
* From Old French portier (“doorman”), from porte (“door”)
* From Old French portour (“bearer”), from porter (“to carry”)
Webster’s 1913
- noun A man who has charge of a door or gate; a doorkeeper; one who waits at the door to receive messages. Shak.
- noun A carrier; one who carries or conveys burdens, luggage, etc.; for hire.
- noun A bar of iron or steel at the end of which a forging is made; esp., a long, large bar, to the end of which a heavy forging is attached, and by means of which the forging is lifted and handled is hammering and heating; --called also porter bar.
Etymology [F. portier, L. portarius, from porta a gate, door. See Port a gate.]
Etymology [F. porteur, fr. porter to carry, L. portare. See Port to carry.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “porter”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details