port

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A place on the coast where ships dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.

   The ship arrived at the port early in the morning.

2. 2
   noun

   The left side of a ship or aircraft when facing forward.

   Land was visible off the port side.

3. 3
   noun

   A strong sweet red wine from Portugal.

   They each had a glass of port after dinner.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Port in the sense “harbour” comes from Latin portus, “haven or harbour.” Its use for the left side of a ship dates from the mid-16th century, probably because that side faced the quay and contained the loading hatch when the ship was in port. Port the wine has a separate origin: it is a shortened form of Oporto, the Portuguese city from which the wine was shipped.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Indo-European *pértusder. Proto-Italic *portus Latin portusbor. Old English port English port From Old English port, borrowed from Latin portus (“port, harbour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”) (and thus a distant doublet of ford). The directional sense, attested since at least the 1500s, derives from ancient vessels with the steering oar on the right (see etymology of starboard), which therefore had to moor with their left sides facing the dock or wharf. Doublet of fjard, fjord, firth, ford, and…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary