| 释义 |
▪ I. port, n.1|pɔət|
Also 4–6 porte, 5 poort.
[OE. port haven, harbour, ad. L. port-us haven, harbour. In ME. reinforced by F. port (= Pr. port, Sp. puerto, Pg., It. porto) of same origin. Sense 5 directly from OF.]
I.
1. a. A place by the shore where ships may run in for shelter from storms, or to load and unload; a harbour, a haven.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §20 Þonne is an port on suðeweardum þæm lande, þone man hæt Sciringes heal. Ibid. §21, He seᵹlode on fif daᵹan to þæm porte þe mon hæt æt Hæþum. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 31 At a hauen of Sandwich, in þe portis mouth. 1390Gower Conf. III. 288 He arryveth: Sauf in the port of Antioche. 1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 163 Hauenge also more plesaunte portes [L. portus accommodatiores, 1387 more profitable hauenes]. 1455–6Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 290 Al maner schyppys that cumyth withyn the portys of the cittie of Dyvelyng. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. iii. 3 The yles Baleares..haue good ports. Ibid. xi. 13 We arryued at the porte of Bone. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 8 Being Master of that Isle, they could break the Chain that secured the Port, which was stretched from the Castle St. Angelo to the Spur of the said Isle. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. viii, To set me safe ashore in the first port where we arrived. 1887Stevenson Underwoods xxviii. 61 I must arise..and to port Some lost complaining seaman pilot home.
b. fig. A place, position, or condition which one takes refuge in, or endeavours to arrive at.
1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 16987 To aryven vp at so holsom a Port, and at so notable an havene, to ffynde Reffuyt and Refuge, O blyssed lady, in the. c1430― Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 238 Thoruhe helpe of Jhesu, at gracious poort t'aryve, Ther to have mercy kneelyng on our kne. 1555Hooper in Coverdale Lett. Mart. (1564) 152 He by praier humbly resorted vnto god as the onely porte of consolation. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. vii, ‘Harmon's, up Battle Bridge way’. Mr. Wegg admits that he is bound for that port. 1879Echo No. 3273. 2 Doubt was expressed..as to the possibility of the measure reaching port this year.
c. Phr. port in a (or the) storm, a refuge in difficulties or troubled circumstances (also in weakened senses); spec. in proverbial phr. any port in a storm, any refuge or escape (is welcomed) in adverse circumstances.
1749J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 133, I feeling pretty sensibly that it was going by the right door, and knocking desperately at the wrong one, I told him of it: ‘Pooh, says he my dear, any port in a storm.’ 1787J. Cobb First Floor ii. ii. 51 Here is a door open, i' faith—any port in a storm, they say. 1821Scott Pirate I. iv. 60 As this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm. 1897R. L. Stevenson St. Ives xxv. 188 ‘Any port in a storm’ was the principle on which I was prepared to act. 1936B. Adams Ships & Women x. 229 ‘How do you like Maggie Cuddeford?’ she asked. I replied, ‘Any port in a storm. I like you heaps better.’ 1965J. Porter Dover Three ii. 19 It was not quite the sort of company with which Dover would mix from choice but, as the jolly sailors say, any port in a storm. 1970Guardian 7 Apr. 18/1 Midnight cries of scorn and indignation rang round the Commons, which was celebrating its return to work with a row over the Ports Bill... Well, any port in a storm these days. 1977A. Morice Murder in Mimicry i. viii. 67 Henry and I moved on to our next port in the storm, which was a bar round the corner.
2. a. A town or place possessing a harbour to which vessels resort to load or unload, from which they start or at which they finish their voyages; spec. a place where customs officers are stationed to supervise the entry of goods.
Often as a part of the proper name of towns, etc., which are also harbours, e.g. Port Arthur, Port Chalmers, Port Elizabeth, Port Erin, Port Glasgow, Port Patrick, Port Royal, Port Said, Port Victoria; also in composition as Bridport, Devonport, Maryport, etc.
a900tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. i. §3 (1890) 256, & hine ᵹelædde to þam porte, þe is nemned Cwæntwic [Étaples]. [1340Act 14 Edw. III, Stat. ii. c. 4 Les Custumers des portz ou les leynes se chargeront [etc.]. ]c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 29 Men may passe by see to þe porte Iaffe. 1432Rolls of Parlt. IV. 417/2 Other Havenes under the Port of Chichester. 1486C'tess of Oxford in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 7 That such wetche..be used and hadde in the poorts, and creks. 1487Act 3 Hen. VII, c. 7 Every merchaunt..which shall bryng..eny maner of goodez into any porte within this realme. Ibid., The custumers of the seid porte. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xxvii. 1 Tyre, which is a porte off the see yt occupieth with moch people. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 260 The Frenche kyng wrote to the Emperor..that his armie had gotten the isle of Wight, the Portes of Hampton and Portesmouth, & diuerse other places. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 211 The priviledges of a port or haven town. 1759B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. II. Norfolk 75 This is the greatest Port for Importation. 1766Blackstone Comm. I. vii. 264 These legal ports were undoubtedly at first assigned by the crown; since to each of them a court of portmote is incident, the jurisdiction of which must flow from the royal authority. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 302 The profit of conveying bullion and other valuable commodities from port to port.
b. close port, free port: see quots.
1567Sc. Acts Jas. VI (1814) III. 42/1 It salbe lesum to na strangear..To lois or laið bot at fre portis alanerly vnder þe pane of confiscatioun. 1727–41Chambers Cycl. s.v., Close Ports, are those within the body of a city; as those of Rhodes, of Venice [etc.]. Free Port,..a port open and free for merchants of all nations to load and unload their vessels in... Marseilles was declared a free port by an edict of Louis XIV. bearing date 5th March 1669. Free Port is also used for a total exemption and franchise, which any set of merchants enjoy, for goods imported into a state, or those of the growth of the country exported. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Close ports, those which lie up rivers; a term in contradistinction to out ports.
c. port of entry: a port by which people and goods may enter a country. Cf. port n.3 4 b.
1840Niles' Reg. 23 May 188/1 Mr. King..reported a bill for the establishment of ports of entry in the states of Missouri and Arkansas. 1936Phytopathology XXVI. 476 The suggested system of field inspection and certification..will..relieve the port-of-entry inspection services of the sole responsibility of passing materials offered for import. 1977Arab Times 13 Nov. 4/7 Ercan is not an internationally recognised port of entry into Cyprus. Only the Turkish state airline THY and the tiny Turkish Cypriot airline, KTHY use it.
d. port of call: a port visited by a vessel in the course of a voyage. Also transf.
1884[see call n. 5 a]. 1919W. T. Grenfell Labrador Doctor (1920) viii. 168 We..put down our helm..to avoid the wash... The last port of call was Henley, or Château, where formerly the British had placed a fort. 1980J. B. Hilton Anathema Stone ix. 93 Waiting for me to be out of earshot..so that I would not know what was to be her next port of call.
†3. the five ports: = Cinque Ports. Also the barons of the Cinque Ports. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1169 Þe vif tounes of þe vif pors [v.rr. ports, -es] he let walli aboute. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 252 Þe fiue portes þorgh powere þe se had so conquerd. c1400Brut 235 Þe V Portes token to kepe hem [sea coasts], and also the see. 1429Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 146 Six erles in their estate shewid them alle; And the v. poortis beryng up the palle. c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xvii. (1885) 151 Chambirlayns off Countreis, þe warden off þe portes, and such oþer. 1631[see five a. 1].
†4. The mouth of a river. Obs. rare.[Rendering L. portus, sometimes used in this sense.] 1555Eden Decades 165 This riuer fauleth into the furthest corner of the goulfe of Vraba by seuen portes or mowthes.
II.
†5. (?) A recess in the mountains; a defile, a mountain pass: applied esp. to those of the Pyrenees, in OF. (pl.) porz d'Espagne, med.L. Hispani portūs, Pyrenæi portūs (Du Cange).[a. OF. (and local Fr.) port, pl. porz, pors (11th c. in Chans. Roland, ports = Sp. puertos, med.L. portūs ‘fauces, claustra montium’ (Du Cange, citing Pseudo-Turpin c 1125), the same word as L. portus haven, and app. an ancient local application of that word, perh. originally in sense ‘recesses of the mountains’; cf. cove n.1 3, 4, ‘a recess in the coast, or amid mountains’, also locally in U.S. a gap, a pass.] c1205Lay. 24415 Nes na cniht ne na swein..from þa porz of Spaine to þan tune of Alemaine, þat þider icomen nere, ȝif he iboden weore, al for Arðures æie.
III. 6. attrib. and Comb. a. General combs., as (in senses 1, 2) port-bell, port clearance (clearance 8), port-fog, port-gauger (gauger 1), port guardship, port haven, port-master, port-officer, port-order, port-trade; port-seizing adj.
1608H. Clapham Errour Right Hand 51 The *Port⁓bell ringes, it is now about the eleuenth hower.
1815Gen. Hist. in Ann. Reg. 136/2 Several English vessels provided with *port-clearances were fired at.
1891Kipling Barrack-Room Ballads (1892) 206 O the mutter overside, when the *port-fog holds us tied. 1923― Land & Sea Tales 173 When the port-fog holds us Moored and helpless, a mile from the pier.
1737J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. iii. xxviii. (ed. 33) ii. 85 *Port-Guagers, each 66l. per annum.
1899Westm. Gaz. 1 July 5/1 The *port guardship of l'Orient, the Caudan.
1662Owen Animadv. on Fiat Lux Wks. 1851 XIV. 60 This is the *port-haven of Protestants, whatever real darkness may be about them.
1590Marlowe Edw. II, iv. iii, Our *portmasters Are not so careless of their King's command.
1901Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 522/2 The *port-officer, and one or two Eurasian residents, came to the office..to interview us.
1796Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1846) VII. p. cxxiv, *Port-orders.
1897Westm. Gaz. 30 Dec. 2/2 The *port-seizing Power for the day is France, and the port seized is Hainan.
b. Special combs.: port-admiral, an admiral in command of a naval port; port-bar, (a) a shoal or bank across the entrance to a port; = bar n.1 15; (b) = boom n.2 3 (Webster 1864); port-bound a., detained in port by contrary winds, foul weather, etc.; port-charge, harbour-due (see harbour n.1 5); port-duty = prec.; port-head, the most landward part of a harbour (head n.1 15); † port-pass, authorization to leave or land at a port: see passport; port-pay, wages due for time during which one's ship is detained in port.
1829Marryat F. Mildmay iv, The junior *port-admiral had a spite against our captain. 1833― P. Simple x, The captain applied to the port-admiral, and obtained permission to send parties on shore to impress seamen.
1695Congreve Love for L. iii. vi, I love to roam about from Port to Port..; I could never abide to be *Port-bound, as we [sailors] call it. 1822Scott Pirate vii, Does she get rich by selling favourable winds to those who are port⁓bound?
1652Suffolk Deeds I. 234 By their third part of 942Rs. *port chardges at St. Lucar.
1776Adam Smith W.N. v. i. iii. (1869) II. 307 A moderate *port-duty upon the tonnage of the shipping.
1776G. Semple Building in Water 154 The *Port-head at the Custom-house Quay.
1678in Marvell Growth Popery 63 Having a Pass from the Lords of the Admiralty, and a *Port-Pass from Dover.
1758J. Blake Plan Mar. Syst. 11 He will have eight months wages remaining due to him, besides his *port-pay.
Add:[I.] [2.] e. Hence, any point (other than a sea-port) at which passengers embark or disembark, or at which goods are loaded or unloaded, esp. on arrival in a country; spec. as inland port. Freq. ellipt. for airport n.
1934Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXVIII. 816 For carrying out the landing, the aeroplane is first of all communicated with at a sufficient height by wireless by the ground stations and is conducted to the port. 1956W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 394/2 Port,..short for ‘air-port’. 1975Economist 29 Mar. 96/1 It [sc. the scheme] could apply to any inland port, any barge wharf, almost any container depot. 1987Wantage & Grove Herald 29 Jan. 8/2 The port is used by importers and exporters who want to clear customs formalities but avoid delays at ports and airports. 1989Financial Times 14 Apr. 16/5 One of the biggest industrial schemes planned for Leeds is at the inland port of Stourton.
▪ II. † port, n.2 Obs. exc. Hist. or in Comb.
[OE. port m. = MFl., MDu. port fem., town, burgh, city. In origin, the same word either as the prec. or as the following; its proper place being somewhat doubtful, it is here provisionally separated, and placed between the two. See Note below.]
A town: perhaps spec., a walled town, or a market-town; but identified with burh as a rendering of L. cīvitās, and, like ‘town’, contrasted with uppelond ‘country’.
(The Netherlandish port was identified with borch, and, generally, with stat ‘city’; but was app. also applicable to places inferior in rank or privileges to a city.)
901–924Laws Eadw. I, i. c. 1 Ic wille þæt..nan man ne ceapiᵹe butan porte [extra portum], ac hæbbe þæs portᵹerefan ᵹewitnesse oððe oðera unᵹeliᵹenra manna. c950Lindisf. Gosp., Capitula Lectionum Matt. xxxi. (ed. Skeat 18), In ciuitate sua, gloss in buruᵹ vel in port his. Ibid. xxxx, Increpat ciuitates, gl. burᵹas vel portas. Ibid. Mark vi. 6 Et circumibat castella, gl. ymb-eode ða portas. 10..O.E. Chron. an. 1010 Ða com se here to Hamtune, and þone port sona forbærndon. a1100Ibid. (an. 1052 MS. D, Worc.), Þa ferdon his men dyslice æfter inne, & sumne man ofsloᵹon of þam porte [i.e. Dover], & oðer man of þam porte heora ᵹeferan. a1122Ibid. an. 1087 (Laud MS.) Se cyng..bead þ̶ ælc man..sceolde cuman to him, Frencisce & Englisce, of porte & of uppe lande. 11..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 550/7 Castellum, wic uel lutel port. [1876Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxv. 516 Port, in the sense of town, is now known only in a few compound words, like Port-reeve and Port⁓meadow.]
b. attrib. and Comb. as † port-dog, † port-hound; † port-highway, † port-street (only in OE. port-stræte) = port-way. See also portman, port-mote, port-reeve, port-sale, etc.
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 307/267 He [devil] fierde ase doth a *port-doggue I-norischet in port-toun: For he geth ofte in prece of Men a-mong heom op and doun.
Ibid. 274 None more þane þe *port-hound, þat neiȝ men geth I-nouȝ.
1601Holland Pliny I. 140 At this town [Petra] meet both the *port high waies, to wit, the one which passengers trauell to Palmyra in Syria, and the other, wherein they go from Gaza.
a1000in Kemble Cod. Dipl. III. 36 In ðære *portstræt; and swa æfter ðære stræte. [Note. The extension of the sense ‘haven’ or ‘harbour-town’ to an inland town presents difficulties, though an explanation has been sought in the definition of L. portus, in the Digest L. xvi. (De verb. signif.) 59 ‘Portus appellatus est conclusus locus, quo importantur merces et inde exportantur; eaque nihilo minus statio est conclusa atque munita’. The transference of sense from ‘gate’ to ‘walled town with gates’ is also unlikely. Inasmuch as port1 and port3, though representing respectively L. portus and porta, were both masc. in OE., the fact that this port was also masc. affords no evidence either way. The MFl. words are in a similar position: there port ‘haven’ and porte (later poort) ‘gate’ are both fem., and, port ‘town’ being also fem., the gender gives no indication. But the oldest and prevalent form of the word was port or poort, porte being unusual and late, and prob. due to confusion with porte ‘gate’; Verwijs and Verdam take it therefore as certain that port ‘town’ represented L. portus; and if this was so in Flemish, it was doubtless so also in OE. The Netherlandish word was extensively used down to c 1500, and had numerous derivatives (of which poorter citizen, poort- or poorterregt burgess-ship, citizenship, are still in use). Cf. also portery.] ▪ III. port, n.3|pɔət|
Also 3–8 porte, 5 poort(e.
[ME. porte, port, a. F. porte:—L. porta door, gate. The cognate langs. had in this sense words directly adopted from L., viz. OS. porta, OFris., MLG. porte, MDu. porte, poort(e, Du. poort, OHG. pforta, MHG., Ger. pforte, all fem. OE. had irregularly port m. (in form identical with port n.1), in several instances also rendering L. porticus porch, whence also OE. portic, OHG. pforzih. ON. had also port, perhaps from OE. If the OE. port survived into ME. (which is doubtful), it was then merged in the Fr. word, which became in Sc. the ordinary word for the gate of a town or city.]
1. a. A gate or gateway: from 14th c., usually that of a city or walled town. Now chiefly Sc.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vii. 13 Innᵹeonges ðerh nearuo port vel dure vel ᵹæt forðon ðiu wide ᵹeat [etc.] c975Rushw. Gosp. John x. 23, & eode ðe hælend in tempel in ðone port salamonnes [L. in porticu Salomonis]. c1000Ags. Ps. (Th.) lxviii. 12 Me wiðerwearde wæron ealle, þa him sæton sundor on portum [L. in porta]. a1300Cursor M. 14612 At þe port o salamon Cum vr lauerd in-to þe tun. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 221 A wal i-made of brent tile and streccheþ dounward oute of þe hiȝe hulles by þe ȝate port Asinaria. 14..Customs of Malton in Surtees Misc. (1888) 58 Thay schall haffe iiij portes, that is to say iiij ȝattes. 1490Caxton Eneydos xiv. 49 The brydges, poortes and passages ben lefte wythoute warde. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxvii. 17 Ane fair processioun mett her at the Port. c1520M. Nisbet Acts iii. 10 He it was that sat at almouse at the fair port of the tempile. 1535Coverdale Judith xiii. 10 So these two..came thorow the valley vnto the porte of the cite. 1537Bible (Matthew) Ps. ix. 14 note, The portes or gates of the daughter of Syon are the companies of the good and faythfull. 1607Shakes. Cor. v. vi. 6 Him I accuse: The City Ports by this hath enter'd. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 778 And from thir Ivorie Port the Cherubim Forth issuing..stood armd. 1672Dryden Def. Epilogue Ess. (ed. Ker) I. 169 He [Jonson] perpetually uses ports for gates; Which is an affected error in him, to introduce Latin by the loss of the English idiom. 1712–30Gideon Guthrie (1900) 21 He was passing the port of Templebar. 1802Home Hist. Reb. iii, The Scots call the gate of a town the Port. 1828Scott F.M. Perth vii, Let us meet at the East Port. 1904C. S. Dougall Burns Country i. 7 Travellers setting out through the Kyle port, the eastern exit of the ‘ancient borough’.
b. transf. and fig. (Cf. gate n.1 3–5.)
1535Goodly Primer (1834) 238 From the ports of hell..Lord, deliver our souls. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde (1564) 10 The entraunce of the matrix or wombe, is named the womb port or mother port. 1601B. Jonson Forest xi, Th'eye and eare (the ports vnto the minde). 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 3 This people..by the Caspian ports passing thorow the Georgian country. a1677Hale Prim. Orig. Man. i. i. 1 These five ports or gates,..the five exterior Senses. 1742Young Nt. Th. iv. 292 Then first Humanity Triumphant, past the Crystal Ports of Light.
†c. Sc. An open space near the gate of a town, at which labourers were hired in open market; hence, a hiring-market or fair there held. Hence port-day. port-wages: the rate of pay fixed at the ‘port’. Obs.
1786Har'st Rig (1801) 39 Masters far and near hae been At port, they say. Ibid. 41 To Dun-eudain they hie with haste The next port-day. Ibid. 38 The West-port of Edinburgh, or rather the Grass market adjoining, is the place where reapers are hired every day during harvest..particularly on Mondays. 1883J. Martin Remin. Old Haddington 346 Linton..had from an early date a weekly established ‘Port’, every Monday morning during the harvest season for hiring shearers and fixing the wages. 1903J. Lumsden Toorli, etc. 8 Port wages and the halesome harvest fare.
2. Naut.
a. An opening in the side of a ship for entrance and exit, and for the loading and discharge of cargo.
b. Each of the apertures in a ship of war through which cannon were pointed; now, an aperture for the admission of light and air; a port-hole.
1390Gower Conf. I. 197 This knyht..cam to Schipe..To the porte anon he ferde:..And sodeinliche he was out throwe And dreynt. 1495Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 164 Calkyng the porte of the seid Ship. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 259 b, The Mary Rose..was laden wyth muche ordinaunce, and the portes left open, whiche where very lowe,..when the ship should turne, the water entered, and sodainly she sanke. c1595Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 58 A verie fine snugg long shipp, havinge on each side vi. portes open, beside her chace and her sterne peeces. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ii. 5 All the Ports may be of such equall height, so that euery peece may serue any Port. 1727–41Chambers Cycl. s.v. Ship, Plate, Fig. 2. 66 The Lower Tyre Ports. 67 The Middle Tyre of Ports. 68 The Entring Ports. 1836Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 11 We came up with a French brig... I put my head out of the port to admire her. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxiii. 72 We were so near as to count the ports on her side. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Entering-ports, ports cut down on the middle gun-deck of three-deckers, to serve as door⁓ways for persons going in and out of the ship. 1890Cent. Dict. s.v. Lumber-port, Vessel Unloading Lumber through Lumber-port.
c. The cover or shutter of a port-hole; a port-lid. half-port: see quot. 1823.
c1627[see port-rope in 6]. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 19 The Ports, all knockt open..to run out our Guns. 1759Hist. in Ann. Reg. 120/2 We..hauled our ports up and run our weather guns out. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §290 To make the holes preparatory for hanging the Ports for the windows;..got the ports hung so as to keep the sea from coming in at the windows [in lighthouse]. 1823Crabb Technol. Dict. s.v. Ports, Half-ports, a kind of shutters with circular holes in their centre large enough to go over the muzzles of the guns. c1860[see port-lid in 6].
d. transf. = port-hole 2 a.
1882Cussans Her. (ed. 3) 112 When the tincture of the Field is to be seen through the windows or ports, they are said to be Voided of the Field.
e. U.S. An aperture in the body of an aircraft (see quots.).
1946Aeroplane Spotter 21 Sept. 226/1 (caption) This photograph shows well the fabric covering the three machine gun ports in each wing. 1954D. M. Desoutter All about Aircraft 415/2 Details of the armament and interior arrangements are sparse, but two large gun ports are visible in pictures. 1958N.Y. Times Mag. 6 Apr. 68/4 The bombardier tightens the canvas over his ports. 1959F. D. Adams Aeronaut. Dict. 128/1 Port, a circular window in the side of an aircraft fuselage, hull, or cabin, or a side aperture for a gun, a camera, etc.
3. In various games, a passage through which a ball or the like must pass.
†a. Billiards. See quots. Obs. exc. Hist.
1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 262/2 Billiards..the Port is the Arch of Ivory, standing at a little distance from the other end of the Table. 1873Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ Billiards 4 The peculiarity of the game at this time consisted in the use of a small arch of ivory called the ‘port’.
b. Curling or Bowls. A passage remaining open between two stones or bowls: see quot. 1898.
1789D. Davidson Thoughts on Seasons 169 They closed fast on every side—A port could scarce be found. 1811J. Ramsay Acct. Game of Curling 10 Whether they will have to draw, strike, wick, or enter a port, they will seldom deviate an inch from their aim. [Note] To enter a port, is to make a stone pass through an opening made by two others lying opposite to one another. 1817Lintoun Green iii. xiii, To draw, guard, strike, or wick, he tries, Or through a port to steer. 1820Blackw. Mag. VI. 572 Anon a Port is to be taken. 1898R. Caledon. Curling Club Ann. 26 d, diagram, Drawing through a Port... If the played Stone pass between these two Stones without touching either. 1937T. Henderson Lockerbie ix. 60 If ye mak' yersel' sma' ye'll can squeeze through the port. Here's the tee; noo canny. 1975Scotsman 17 Mar. (Curling Suppl.) p. v/7 The whys and wherefores of shots made and lost, the backring take-outs, in-wicks, out-wicks and draws through narrow ports were all double Dutch.
4. a. Mech. An aperture for the passage of steam, gas, or water; esp. in a steam-engine, for the passage of steam into or out of the cylinder, a steam-port. Also, an aperture by which the mixture enters the cylinder or combustion chamber of an internal-combustion engine, or by which the exhaust gases leave it.
1839R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 101 To shut the steam port before the eduction port, leaving the expansive power of the steam, already in the cylinder, to finish the remainder of the stroke. 1848Exhaust port [see exhaust n. 3]. 1859Rankine Steam Engine (1861) 487 The seat of a steam engine slide valve consists usually of a very accurate plane surface, in which are oblong openings or ports..at least two in number. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1767/1 The entering port for live steam is the inlet or induction port; the port of departure is the outlet, eduction, or exhaust port. 1886D. Clerk Gas Engine vii. 168 An exhaust valve, leading into the space by a port, is also actuated at suitable times from the secondary shaft. 1895Model Steam Engine 39 When both the ports are equally uncovered, the length of the eccentric-rod is correct. 1913Autocar Handbk. (ed. 5) ii. 33 During the compression and firing strokes all four ports are out of line, so that the cylinder is completely closed. 1956F. Preston Pract. Car-Owner i. 19/1 The upward stroke not only drives out burnt gas through an exhaust port in the cylinder wall but also draws in fresh mixture..through an inlet port. 1966B. D. Power High Vacuum Pumping Equipment. xi. 387 Conditions remote from the pumping port are being considered. 1967L. Holmes Odhams New Motor Man. i. 34/1 Valves and a camshaft are not required, as there are ports in the cylinder walls which are uncovered by the moving pistons to let fuel mixture into and exhaust gas out of the cylinders. 1978L. Pryor Viper (1979) ii. 25 Around the perimeter there are two ports. The fuel comes in one port, explodes between ports, then is expelled through the other port.
b. Med. = portal n.1 1 f. Also port of entry (cf. port n.1 2 c).
1908[see cryptogenetic a.]. 1928B. J. Leggett Theory & Pract. Radiol. II. vii. 220 Risk [of injury to surrounding tissues] becomes smaller the greater the number of fields or ports of entry. 1928Amer. Jrnl. Roentgenol. XX. 135/2 It is not really necessary to have two separate ports for the useful radiation. 1936B. J. M. Harrison Textbk. Roentgenol. iii. 50 Considering the physical conditions of the technique adopted, the milliamperage, the kilovoltage..and the size of the area treated (port of entry). 1962Ross & Moore in Surg. Pract. Lahey Clinic (ed. 3) 369 If successive biopsies are desired, the biopsy port is reopened by strong negative pressure applied on ‘H’ syringe for 5 seconds. 1977Radiologia Clinica XLVI. 225 In order to obtain greater homogeneity of biological effects within the treatment volume, all prescribed ports should be used at each treatment session.
c. An aperture in any kind of container or vessel for the entry or egress of fluid.
1944Plastics Jan. 18/2 In transfer moulding the material is placed in a heated pot from which it is forced through a narrow port into the actual mould. 1962V. Grissom in Into Orbit 131 In the rush to get out before I sank I had not closed the air inlet port in the belly of my suit, where the oxygen tube fits inside the capsule. 1971Sci. Amer. Sept. 222/3 A filter should be inserted between the inlet port of the compressor and the gas outlet of the laser.
d. An aperture in a loudspeaker enclosure.
1949Frayne & Wolfe Elem. Sound Recording xxx. 627 Ports are provided at the front of the enclosure in order to utilize some of the back-radiated energy to reinforce the energy from the horn at the lower frequencies. 1975G. J. King Audio Handbk. vi. 143 The box has two main apertures, one to accommodate the driver unit and the other, called the vent or port, which allows air to move in and out of the enclosure in sympathy with the air pressure changes inside.
e. (i) Electr. A pair of terminals where a signal enters or leaves a network or device, the current flowing into one terminal at any instant being equal to that flowing out of the other. Freq. ellipt. with preceding numeral adj.
1953Wheeler & Dettinger in Wheeler Monogr. ix. 7 After considering many alternatives, the writer has adopted the term ‘portal’ or simply ‘port’ as the general designation of an entrance or exit of a network. A self-impedance becomes a ‘one-port’. The usual transducer becomes a ‘two-port’ with one ‘in-port’ and one ‘out-port’. The general network is designated a ‘multi-port’. 1958N. Balabanian Network Synthesis i. 9 The simplest network..is the one-terminal pair, or one-port. 1966L. A. Manning Electr. Circuits xii. 256 A two-port network may be driven by either a voltage or a current source of input, and either voltage or current may be measured at the output. 1973Nature 3 Aug. 264/1 The switching element was a four-port ferrite switch driven at 1 kHz. 1975D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. iii. 43 A transistor is a two-port network, although it has three terminals. Connecting an extra wire to one of the terminals provides the extra terminal without violating any network laws.
(ii) A place where signals enter or leave a data-transmission system or a device in such a system.
1970C. S. Carr et al. in Proc. AFIPS Conf. XXXVI. 592/2 We assume here that a process has several input-output paths which we will call ports. Each port may be connected to a sequential I/O device, and while connected, transmits information in only one direction. 1972Proc. IEEE LX. 1409/1 The combiner may have a fixed number of input ports to which the terminals are either always connected, or to which they may be connected, if not already occupied. Ibid. 1412/1 Each remote tymsat is capable of accommodating up to 31 simultaneous users... In addition, each CPU has 60 input ports, each corresponding to a different user. 1976U.S. Agric. Outlook 1977 (Nat. Agric. Outlook Conf., U.S.) 366 The University user can lease either a 10-character per second or a 30-character per second port. The monthly rate varies..depending on the speed. 1976Rep. Computer Board of Managem., 1975–76 (University Coll., London, Computer Centre) i. 4 For several years we have had a single dial-up line, operating at only 1200 bands. This single port was heavily used.
5. The curved mouthpiece of some bridle-bits.
1587Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 94 A pleasant porte doth rule a raging horse, When harder brakes doe breake the mouth too much. 1607Markham Caval. ii. (1617) 62 Many..haue added in stead of the plights which fold the two partes of the bytte together, another peece in fashion of a round hoope, or a half moone, which they call a Port, and sometimes this Port must consist of one peece, and then it is called a whole Port, sometimes of two peeces, and then it is called a broken Port. 1875‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports ii. iii. i. §3. 523 The ordinary curb with a port on the mouthpiece. 1884E. L. Anderson Mod. Horsemanhsip i. v. 17 The mouth-piece should have a liberty for the tongue, so that the bit may take effect upon the bars of the mouth. The size of this liberty, or port as it is called, should depend upon the size of the tongue of the horse.
6. attrib. and Comb., as (in sense 2) port-bar, port-flange, port-hook, port-lid, port-nail, port-sail, port-sash, port-shackle, port-sill, port-tackle: see quots.; † port-base, a small piece of ordnance, formerly in naval use; port-bit (sense 5), a bridle-bit of which the mouthpiece is curved into an arch; port-face, in a steam-engine, the flat surface in the steam-chest containing the ports or steam-passages; port-light (see quot. 1927); port-mouth = port bit; also attrib.; port-mouthed a., having a port mouthpiece, as a bit; also transf.; port-pendant = port-rope; port-piece, an obsolete kind of ship's gun; port-rope, a rope for raising and lowering a port-lid; port-stopper, a revolving shutter for closing a port in a turret-ship; port-way = sense 4.
1864Webster, *Port-bar. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Port-bars, strong pieces of oak, furnished with two laniards, by which the ports are secured from flying open in a gale of wind, the bars resting against the inside of the ship; the port is first tightly closed by its hooks and ring⁓bolts.
1600in Hakluyt Voy. (1811) IV. 47 The barke..Content had but one Minion, one Falcon, one Saker, and 2 *port⁓bases.
1662Sir A. Mervyn Speech on Irish Affairs 31 If they will not mannage with a Snaffle, perchance their Heads may be brought into a Rane with a *Port-bit.
1585Records of Elgin (New Spald. Cl.) I. 177 Na maner of persone..within the kirkȝaird..to play at kylis, *portbowlis, or ony uther pastime.
1867Smyth Sailor's Work-bk., *Port-flange, in ship-carpentry, is a batten of wood fixed on the ship's side over a port, to prevent water or dirt going into the port.
1823Crabb Technol. Dict., *Port-Hooks,..for the purpose of hooking the hinges that are fastened to the port-lids.
Ibid., *Port-Lids, a sort of hanging doors that shut in the ports at sea. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 71 What are the port-lids, or ports for? For closing the ports.
1926Chambers's Jrnl. July 478/2 *Portlights as fitted to deck cabins have some drawbacks. 1927G. Bradford Gloss. Sea Terms 132/2 The usual round openings closed with glass for light and air are called ports. The glass is set in a hinged brass frame called the port light.
1589Pappe w. Hatchet D iv, Thou shalt be broken..with a muzroule, *portmouth, and a martingall. 1908Animal Managem. 140 Swimming mounted, requires a capable horseman, who should be a good swimmer himself. Before riding in, it is well to remove the portmouth bit if one is worn. 1965C. E. G. Hope Riding v. 62 The best known variety of the Pelham must be the British military bit, the port-mouth universal, reversible.
1739N. Eng. Hist. & Gen. Reg. (1850) IV. 260 A *port mouthed Bitt. 1848Eliza Cook Curls & Couplets xvi, The port-mouthed parapet.
1710J. Harris Lex. Techn. II. *Port-nails, are such Nails as are used to fasten the Hinges to the Ports of Ships. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 134 Port nails..are similar to clamp nails, and used for fastening iron-work.
1527in Archæologia XLVII. 332 For a bumbardell, ij *portpeces with iiij. chambers of one sorte, xxxvij. barrelles saltpetre..c. li. 1884Encycl. Brit. XVII. 282/2 There were..in the first period of naval history basilisks, port pieces, stock⁓fowlers, sakers, and bombards.
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. vi. 27 The *Port ropes hale vp the Ports of the Ordnances. 1867in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Violes à Lest, *port-sails, or pieces of canvas, depending from the port-hole of the ship, into which the ballast is thrown, to the side of the ballast-lighter.
1823Crabb Technol. Dict., *Port-Sashes, glass frames that are put into the cabin-ports and other rooms at sea.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Sole, a name sometimes given to the lower side of a gun-port, which however is more properly called the *port-sell. 1869E. J. Reed Shipbuilding viii. 149 To obtain a good height of the port⁓sill above the water-level.
1823Crabb Technol. Dict., *Port-Tackles, those which serve to haul up the Port-lids.
▪ IV. port, n.4|pɔət|
Also 4–8 porte, 5 poort.
[a. F. port a carrying, bearing, manners, gait, etc., vbl. n. f. porter: see port v.1 So It. porto, Sp., Pg. porte.]
I.
1. a. The manner in which one bears oneself; external deportment; carriage, bearing, mien.
c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 834 She had so stedfast countenaunce, So noble porte and mayntenaunce. c1386― Prol. 69 And of his port as meeke as is a mayde. 1387–8T. Usk Test. Love i. v. (Skeat) l. 73 Let thy port ben lowe in every wightes presence. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 143 [He] sauhe by ther poort that they stood in dreede. c1440Promp. Parv. 409/2 Poort, of cowntenawnce, gestus. 1514Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 21 Thus with proude porte to cloke theyr poverte. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 869 With them comes a third of Regal port, But faded splendor wan. 1704Addison Poems, Campaign 417 Such easie greatness, such a graceful port. 1805Wordsw. Prelude ix. 146 His port, Which once had been erect and open, now Was stooping and contracted. 1874Symonds Sk. Italy & Greece (1898) I. viii. 155 She has the proud port of a princess.
b. fig. Bearing, purport (of a matter).
1568Grafton Chron. II. 721 The English Herault had shewed him playnely how to enter into the port of the treatie. 1841Emerson Lect. Times Wks. (Bohn) II. 249, I wish to consider well this affirmative side, which has a loftier port, and reason than heretofore. 1876Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. ii. 285 Phrases of towering port, in which every member dilated stands like Teneriffe or Atlas.
†c. Behaviour, conduct. Obs. rare—1.
1588Lambarde Eiren. iv. xiv. 563 A Writ of allowance, testifying that he hath found suerties for his good port, according to the Statute.
d. Dignified carriage; stately bearing. rare.
1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts, Prov. xxx. 29 Which carry..a kinde of port, and pleasure in their motion. 1873Holland A. Bonnic. i. 9 The growing port of later years, and the ampler vestments are laid aside.
e. transf. Habit or mode of growth (of a plant). rare.
1721Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 27 They have given the Feminine Character to some Plants for the sake of their beautiful Flowers, or from the Port or Appearance of the whole plant. 1882Garden 10 June 402/2 It [the Umbrella Tree] is somewhat straggling in growth, but this does not detract from its handsome port.
2. a. Style of living; esp. a grand or expensive style; state; hence transf. social position, station. Now rare or Obs.
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxviii. 42 Eche of them kept a great estate and port, and spared nothynge. 1530Palsgr. 431/2 He is nat worth two pens all men payed, and yet he kepeth a porte lyke a lorde. 1570Abp. Parker Corr. (Parker Soc.) 360 For that Mr Bickley is master of a house and keepeth thereby a port of worship, I think he would well serve the turn. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 9 By his port and house he kept he was more like a Hermite, than a Governour. a1713T. Ellwood Autobiog. (1765) 5 My Father..having accepted the Office of a Justice of the Peace..put himself into a Port and Course of Living agreeable thereunto. 1806Scott Fam. Lett. 23 Nov., It became more and more difficult..to keep the name and port of gentlemen. 1839Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 431 If they were spenders, they must needs have, because it was seen in their port and manner of living.
†b. transf. A train of attendants (as indicating a splendid style of living); a retinue. Also fig.
1545R. Ascham Toxoph. Ded. (Arb.) 13 What tyme..your highnes..tooke that your moost honorable and victorious iourney into Fraunce, accompanied with such a porte of the Nobilitie and yeomanrie of Englande. 1577R. S. (title) The Covrt of ciuill Courtesie. Fitlie furnished with a pleasant port of stately phrases and pithy precepts. 1621Fletcher Pilgrim i. ii, Well, madam, ye've e'en as pretty a port of pentioners―. Vain-glory would seek more and handsomer.
II.
†3. Means of carriage, conveyance. Obs.
c1500Chaucer's Dreme 29 That some gode spirit, that eve, By mene of some curious port, Bar me, wher I saw peyne and sport.
†4. The action of carrying; the fee or price for carrying; postage, carriage. Obs.
1615Lett. E. India Co. (1899) III. 194 You are to pay the bringer 5 mas port; he hath promised me to make haste. 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. ii. 24 He bethought himselfe of feigning a packet of Letters, and to put there⁓vpon two Ducats Port. 1635in Secret Committee on Post-Office (1844) 56 The further the lettres shall goe, the port thereof is to be advanced. 1692N. York Stat. in Laws & Acts N.Y. (1694) 74 For the port of every single letter from Boston to New York..nine pence.
†5. Weight that has to be carried or borne. rare.
1660Sharrock Vegetables 38 It has root to grow, body to bear the port of the plant. 1682N. O. Boileau's Lutrin i. 108 And his Fat comely Corps, so thick and short Made the Soft Pillows groan under his Port.
6. Something that is used to carry, a carrier:
†a. A socket attached to the saddle or stirrup in which the butt of the lance rested when carried upright.
b. Some part of the handle of a sword, ? the hilt or grip. Obs.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV 12 One company had the plackard, the rest, the port, the burley, the tasses, the lamboys,..all gylte. 1679Lond. Gaz. No. 1404/4 Lost..a large agget handle Sword, with a Silver Hilt Cross and Port,..the Hilt gilt in Ports.
c. A frame for carrying; spec. in candle-making: see quots.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 247 A frame, or port, as the work⁓men call it..containing 6 rods, on each of which are hung 18 wicks. c1865Letheby in Circ. Sc. I. 93/2 The wicks are cut into proper lengths by a machine, according to the sort of candle to be made, and then suspended from a rod or frame, called a port.
†7. Venery. (See quots.) Obs.
1688R. Holme Armoury ii. 132/2 An Harts..Footing is called, slot, or portes. Ibid. 188/1 Ports, or Slot, is the print or tread of a Deers foot.
†8. Mus. (See quot.) Obs. rare.
1727–41Chambers Cycl., Port of the voice, in music, the faculty and habit of makeing the shakes, passages, and diminutions.
9. [fr. Mil. phr. Port arms.] The position required by the order ‘Port arms’: see port v.1 2, esp. in phr. at the high port; also transf. and fig. Cf. carry n. 3.
1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 30 The whole..drop their carbines smartly to the port. 1887Times (weekly ed.) 28 Oct. 18/4, I..brought the rifle from the ‘slope’ to the ‘port’. [1918E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 294 High port, a position in bayonet training.] 1937Partridge Dict. Slang 19/2 At the high port, at once; vigorously; unhesitatingly; very much: military; from ca. 1925. I.e. in fine style. 1956D. M. Davin Sullen Bell ii. vi. 148 ‘You seem very much at the high port,’ Hugh said. ‘I haven't seen you so bright since the evening you flung the smoke bomb into the Yank mess at Caserta.’ 1970Daily Tel. 28 Apr. 2/5 He began to climb the stairs with the gun at the ‘high port’ position. 1971S. Mays No More Soldiering for Me xv. 153 He spun round with fists at the high port.
▪ V. † port, n.5 Obs.
[Aphetic f. ME. aport, apport n.2, a. OF. aport. F. apport, f. apporter to bring; in med.L. apportum (Du Cange).]
That which anything ‘brings in’, yields, or contributes; a customary or legal contribution, a payment in kind or money, by way of rent, rent-charge, tribute, etc.; in early use, the tribute rendered by a daughter religious house to the mother-house. Also attrib., as port-corn, port-tithe.
1450Rolls of Parlt. V. 198/1 Fermez, Pensions, Portions yeerly, Portes, Annuitees, Feefermes, Knyghtes Fees, Advowsons. 1473Ibid. VI. 93/1 A Graunte by us to hym made.., of a port [= aport] C s. by yere, to be taken by the handes of the Priour and Covent of Wenlok. 1536Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 8 Ye haue aledgyd that I haue letten to Ferme the port tythe. 1541–2in Bolton Stat. Irel. (1621) 227 Which were not..let to ferme for money, but only for porte of corne or marts, or for porte of corne and money. 1715Lond. Gaz. No. 5394/3 Port Corn issuing yearly out of the Vicar's Part of Killrumper Tythes.
▪ VI. port, n.6 (a.) Naut.|pɔət|
[Derivation obscure: see Note below.]
1. The left-hand side of a ship looking forward: = larboard n. Opposed to starboard. (Often in phr. to port, a-port.)
In recent times generally substituted for the older larboard to obviate misunderstandings arising from the similarity in sound of starboard and larboard. By international convention, ships, esp. steamers, carry a red light on the port side.
1543–4(Jan. 11) Adm. Ct. Exam. 92 (Rypper's Depos.) The sayd [ship] mighte have layed his helme a porte. 1625–44H. Manwayring Sea-mans Dict., To Port. Is a word used in Conding the Ship,..they will use the word steddy a-Port, or Steddy a Star-boord, the Ship heeles to Port: bring things neere to port, or the like. 1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. iii. viii. (1821) 562 With two takles hee might steere the Hoy either to Starboard or to Port. 1748Anson's Voy. i. x. 104 The ship heeled..two streaks to port. 1813Southey Nelson I. iii. 124 They..put the helm a-port, and stood after her again. 1844Admlty. Order 22 Nov., The word ‘Port’ is frequently..substituted..for the word ‘Larboard’, and as..the distinction between ‘Starboard’ and ‘Port’ is so much more marked than that between ‘Starboard’ and ‘Larboard’, it is their Lordships direction that the word ‘Larboard’ shall no longer be used. 1846U.S. Navy Department Notice 18 Feb., It having been repeatedly represented to the Department that confusion arises from the use of the words ‘larboard’ and ‘starboard’ in consequence of their similarity of sound, the word ‘port’ is hereafter to be substituted for ‘larboard’. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. iii. (ed. 2) 61 If two sailing ships are meeting end-on,..so as to involve risk of collision, the helms of both shall be put to port, so that each may pass on the port side of the other. 1884Pall Mall G. 25 Aug. 8/2 The..port bow of the Camden struck the port of the Dione between her rigging.
2. a. attrib. or as adj. Situated on, or turned towards the left side of a ship (or aircraft): = larboard B.
1857R. Tomes Amer. in Japan vii. 149 It was thought better to stand off on the port tack, in order to get well clear of the land. 1857Dufferin Lett. High Lat. (ed. 3) 226 A promising opening was reported..a mile or so away on the port-bow. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. i. (ed. 2) 21 The Port Wing Ship of a Column is the ship on its extreme left. 1883Law Times Rep. XLIX. 332/1 The Clan Sinclair..was about to round Blackwall Point under a port helm. Mod. A green light seen on your port bow shows that a vessel is approaching on your left front on a transverse course (the green light being shown from the starboard side of that vessel). 1917R. B. Matthews Aviation Pocket-bk. vi. 164 The leading edges of the port and starboard top wing should be in a straight line. 1939[see flight engineer s.v. flight n.1 15]. 1948[see assembly 1 c]. 1971R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel ii. 25 He had landed at Peshawar..because the port motor was running too roughly to warrant continuing the flight. 1976J. McClure Rogue Eagle iv. 69 The landscape sliding away beneath the port wing. 1977R.A.F. News 27 Apr.-10 May 8/2 Then the port engine burst into flames. [Note. This use of port may have arisen either from port n.1, senses 1, 2, or from port n.3, sense 2. When the steering apparatus was on the right side of the vessel (the steereboord or starboard), it would be convenient, in order to leave this free, to have the port (entering port) on the opposite side (the lade board or larboard). For the same reason, the vessel when in port, would naturally be placed so as to lie with her larboard alongside or facing the shore or port. For either reason, the larboard would be the port side. Port for larboard was in recorded use more than two centuries before it became official; the existence of port v.2 indicates a still earlier colloquial use.] b. port-watch: see quot. 1883.
1867[see larboard n. (a.) B]. 1883Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships R. Navy (Admiralty) (1886) 5 The starboard watch work the starboard side of the deck, and the port watch the port side of the deck. 1953C. S. Forester Hornblower & Atropos xvi. 228 Port watch wins!.. Starboard watch provides the entertainment tomorrow night!
▪ VII. port, n.7|pɔət|
[Shortened form of O Porto (wine), f. Oporto (Pg. O Porto, lit. ‘the Port’) name of a city of Portugal, the chief port of shipment for the wines of the country, formerly also called in Eng. Port O Port(o. So F. (vin de) Porto.]
a. A well-known strong dark-red wine of Portugal, having a sweet and slightly astringent taste. Also called Oporto (wine), † Port O Port wine, † Porto, and port-wine. Hence, a drink of port; a glass used for port.
Formerly also called red port, as opposed to white port, a white wine of Portugal (now little imported).
1691Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) II. 314 English ships that went to Bourdeaux and took in wine, and after sailed to port O Porto, and then came home, pretending it to be port. 1693Bacchanalian Sessions 21 But we've the best Red Port—What's that you call Red Port?—a Wine Sir comes from Portugal. c1717Prior Epitaph 29 Their beer was strong; their wine was port. 1739‘R. Bull’ tr. Dedekindus' Grobianus 263 Wines of ev'ry Sort, From potent Cyprus down to humble Port. 1784R. Bage Barham Downs I. 23 It was his constant custom to smoak tobacco, drink red-port. 1837Marryat Dog-fiend xxx, I mean to take my share of a bottle of Oporto. 1880Browning Clive 77 Let alone that filthy sleep-stuff, swallow bold this wholesome Port! 1889N.-W. Linc. Gloss. (ed. 2) s.v. Red Port, The generation which is passing away, and their predecessors, always spoke of port wine as red port. 1907Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 937 Table glass services... 12 Sherries... 12 Ports... 12 Clarets [etc.]. 1925[see liqueur n. 2]. 1938G. Greene Brighton Rock iii. i. 98 Give me another port. 1974Times 5 Apr. 12/3 The goblet is {pstlg}4.25... A claret is {pstlg}3.15 and a sherry/port {pstlg}2.95.
b. attrib. and Comb., as port club, port-drinking (n. and adj.), port-negus; port-bibbing, port-complexioned adjs.
1751Smollett Per. Pic. IV. xcviii, [One] who had shone at almost all the Port-clubs in that end of the town. 1771Foote Maid of B. i. Wks. 1799 II. 204 A few port-drinking people, that dine every day in the Lion. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. vi, Miss Potterson [took] only half her usual tumbler of hot port negus. 1900Daily News 24 Oct. 10/2 The old days of port-complexioned dons.
▪ VIII. port, n.8 Sc.|pɔət|
Also 8 porte.
[a. Gael. port tune, = Ir. port tune, jig (O'Reilly).]
A lively tune, a catch, an air.
1721Kelly Scott. Prov. 397 What the English call a Catch, the Scotish call a Port; as Carnagies Port, Port Arlington, Port Athol, &c. 17..in Scott Pirate xv. note, You, minstrel man, play me a porte. 1805Scott Last Minstr. v. xiv, The pipe's shrill port aroused each clan. 1896N. Munro Lost Pibroch (1902) 16 You played a port that makes poor enough all ports ever one listened to.
▪ IX. port, n.9
obs. form of (Sublime) porte.
▪ X. port, n.10 Austral.|pɔət|
colloq. abbrev. of portmanteau n.
1908E. G. Murphy Jarrahland Jingles 82 Silently they packed their ‘ports’ and flitted to the West. 1915J. P. Bourke Off Bluebush 122 They see a young chap with a ‘port’ on his back. 1928J. Devanny Dawn Beloved ix. 107 ‘Get my working togs out of my port, will you?’.. Dawn..opened his old portmanteau and took out the things. 1934T. Wood Cobbers xviii. 236 A dignitary festooned in silver lace opened the door and asked me if I had any more ports. in the brake. 1946D. Stivens Courtship Uncle Henry 53 You take your port up and come back to the car. 1954G. Dutton in Coast to Coast 1953–54 149 Well grab your ports, and I'll take you out to the huts. 1967Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 17 Sept. 16/3 She went back to her hut and happily unpacked her ports. 1972R. Magoffin Chops & Gravy 46 Roly grabbed his port..charged towards the bus.
▪ XI. port, v.1|pɔət|
Also 7 porte.
[a. F. port-er:—L. portāre to bear, carry.]
1. trans. To carry, bear, convey, bring.
1566J. Pits Poor Man's Benev., Ps. c, He did vs make, and port And guyde vs all our dayes. 1608Act of Kirk Session Aberdeen in Caled. Merc. 24 Aug. 1816 (Jam.) It becumis the people..to leave their sinnes quhilk porte on Gods judgmentis aganes us. a1637B. Jonson Underwoods, Epithal. vii, The virgins..Porting the ensigns of united two Both crowns and kingdoms, in their either hand. a1661Fuller Worthies, Shropsh. (1662) ii. 1 They [coals] are easily ported by Boat into other Shires. 1706Phillips, To Port, to carry, as To port Books about to sell. 1711in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 178 They had ported arms without license. 1973W. H. Hallahan Ross Forgery iv. 53 The skids..had been ported into the press rooms. 1979‘E. Peters’ One Corpse too Many vii. 113 The boat..was of the light, withy-and-hide type that could be ported easily overland.
2. Mil. To carry or hold (a pike or the like) with both hands; spec. to carry (a rifle or other weapon) diagonally across and close to the body, so that the barrel or blade is opposite the middle of the left shoulder; esp. in the command Port arms! Also port arms, the position adopted at this command.
1625Markham Souldier's Accid. 23 [In] charging [with Pikes]..Port over-hand. Port vnder-hand. 1677R. Boyle Treat. Art of War 191 And have caused my Pike-men to trail their Pikes, that they might not have been seen by the Enemy; which if shoulder'd, or ported, they would be. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. xix. (Roxb.) 147/2 Port your pike, is in three motions to take it by the But end, with your right hand, and beare the point forward aloft. 1803Compl. Drill Serjeant 18 In some regiments it is called porting arms or preparing for the charge. 1820Scott Abbot iii, To mimic the motions of the warder as he alternately shouldered, or ported, or sloped pike. 1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 36 Officers recover swords.., and ‘Port’ them. 1877Field Exerc. Infantry 374 On the approach of any person, the sentry will port Arms, and call out Halt, who comes there? 1918E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 462 Port arms, a position in the Manual of Arms. 1973D. Barnes See the Woman (1974) i. 38 The..white-helmeted officers..stood with batons in a port-arms position, facing the crowd. Ibid. 81 Johnson held the shotgun at port-arms. 1974D. E. Westlake Help (1975) xix. 128 The sentry..was still at port arms as though frozen in that position.
▪ XII. port, v.2 Naut.|pɔət|
[f. port n.6: cf. starboard n. and v.]
1. trans. In to port the helm, to put or turn it to the left side of the ship; also ellipt. to port.
1580H. Smith in Hakluyt's Voy. (1809) I. 505 The William had her sterne post broken, that the rudder did hang clean besides the sterne, so that she could in no wise port her helme. 1594[See pop-mouth s.v. pop-]. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 37 Port, that is, to put the Helme to Larboord, and the Ship will goe to the Starboord. 1630J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise of Hempseed Wks. 65/2 Cleere your maine brace, let goe the bolein there, Port, Port the helme hard. 1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. s.v., They never say Larboard the Helm, but always Port it; tho' they say Starboard the Helm, when it is to be put to the Right side of the Ship. 1829Marryat F. Mildmay xx, ‘Port the helm’... ‘Port it is, sir’, said the man at the helm. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. iii. (ed. 2) 59 Seamen are to be found who port at every light seen ahead, or nearly ahead.
2. intr. Of a ship: To turn or go to her port or left side.
1890in Cent. Dict. 1905Westm. Gaz. 10 Aug. 9/2 She was an unwieldy oil-tank in ballast, and for a moment her huge bulk, slowly porting, was bow on.
▪ XIII. port, v.3
[f. port n.1]
trans. a. To bring to port. b. To land at, reach (a port). c. nonce-use. To furnish with ports or harbours.
1612Two Noble K. v. i, So hoyst we The sayles, that must these vessells port [v.r. part] even where The heauenly lymiter pleases. 1632Lithgow Trav. viii. 350 Coasting the..shoar.., I ported Ligorne, the great Dukes Sea-Haven. 1635Quarles Embl. iii. viii. 155 The way to Heav'n is through the Sea of Teares: Earth is an Island ported round with Feares. 1648Earl of Westmoreland Otia Sacra (1879) 18 A fresh-Mackerell Gale, whose blast May Port them in true happiness at last.
▪ XIV. port, v.4
[f. port n.3]
†1. trans. To furnish or shut in with a gate. Hence ˈported ppl. a. Obs.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. V 65 b, The Englishmen had their parte only barred and ported. 1616B. Jonson Masques, Hymenæi, Barriers, Designing power to ope the ported skyes.
2. Curling. (See quot. and port n.3 3 b.)
1831Blackw. Mag. XXX. 971 Porting, is to come up, inter Scyllam et Charybdim, i.e. to draw a shot through a strait formed by the stones upon the rink.
▪ XV. port, v.5 nonce-wd.
[f. port n.7]
intr. To drink port (cf. to wine). Also to port it.
1825Sporting Mag. XV. 323, I have ported and clareted it ‘many a time and oft’ with Sir John. |