Dictionary

porter en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈpo(ː)ɹtɚ/ rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
• /ˈpɔɹtɚ/ (General-American)
• /ˈpoətə/ non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɔːtə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

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.

Meanings

1. A person who carries luggage and related objects; (historically) one who carried luggage or did manual labour in the transloading of cargo.
   • Achilles! a drayman, a porter, a very camel. c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
   • the unsmotherable delight of all the porters and by - standers 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
   • goods porter
   • Tips were an important part of porters' income, and at Christmas passengers felt there was extra pressure to give them - despite some perceiving the level of service to be poor. 2022 December 14, David Turner, “The Edwardian Christmas getaway...”, in RAIL, number 972, page 35:
   • The man who carries your luggage at the station is a "red cap", not a porter. The Canadian porter is the man who makes up the beds in the sleeping cars. 1954 February, Trevor Holloway, “Canada's Transcontinental Routes”, in Railway Magazine, page 130:
   • By the time I reached the train station I was exhausted, but fortunately there was a porter waiting.
   • As soon as we had come to a stand in Kamina Station, a swarm of porters pushed their way into the compartment to get my luggage. I selected one, and ordered the others out, and then detrained. 1958 February 14, Arthur F. Beckenham, “A Journey in the Belgian Congo”, in Railway Magazine, page 125:
2. An ant having the specialized role of carrying.
3. One who ports software (makes it usable on another platform).
   • […] useful only if you are a Perl porter or implementor and you want to check the efficiency of the hashing algorithm. 1998, Michael McMillan, Perl from the Ground Up, page 45:

Forms

Deriveds

porterless · Porterfield · portress · underporter · uniporter · porterly · symporter · porterlike · teleporter · rope porter

Hyponyms

skycap (carrier of burdens) · jampani (carrier of burdens) · dandy-wallah (carrier of burdens)

Translations (74)

no bærer (person who carries luggage) · sv bärare (person who carries luggage) · fa باربر (person who carries luggage) · sw hamali (person who carries luggage) · pl bagażowy (person who carries luggage) · es fardero (person who carries luggage) · ga póirtéir (person who carries luggage) · it facchino (person who carries luggage) · ga aistire (person who carries luggage) · fa کولبر (person who carries luggage) · ro hamal (person who carries luggage) · nrf portchi (person who carries luggage) · ca portador (person who carries luggage) · pl tragarz (person who carries luggage) · es changarín (person who carries luggage) · ckb حەماڵ (person who carries luggage) · es changador (person who carries luggage) · ko 짐꾼 (person who carries luggage) · ar حَمَّال (person who carries luggage) · la bāiulus (person who carries luggage) · es mozo (person who carries luggage) · sa वाहक (person who carries luggage) · mk но́сач (person who carries luggage) · fa بارکش (person who carries luggage) · hi वाहक (person who carries luggage) · it bastagio (person who carries luggage) · ota حمال (person who carries luggage) · da porter (person who carries luggage) · mi kaiamo (person who carries luggage) · da bærer (person who carries luggage) · pl numerowy (person who carries luggage) · egy Xr:r-q:n-i-V19-A1 (person who carries luggage) · el αχθοφόρος (person who carries luggage) · eo portisto (person who carries luggage) · ur قلی (person who carries luggage) · grc σκευόφορος (person who carries luggage) · sh но̀са̄ч (person who carries luggage) · roa-gal portou (person who carries luggage) · hi बैरा (person who carries luggage) · bg носач (person who carries luggage) · fi kantaja (person who carries luggage) · ckb باربەر (person who carries luggage) · ru гру́зчик (person who carries luggage) · sh носа̀чица (person who carries luggage) · as কুলি (person who carries luggage) · hi कुली (person who carries luggage) · nl kruier (person who carries luggage) · cs nosič (person who carries luggage) · es mecapal (person who carries luggage) · pt carregador (person who carries luggage) · hy բեռնակիր (person who carries luggage) · sw hamali (person who carries luggage) · yi טרעגער (person who carries luggage) · as মটীয়া (person who carries luggage) · as ভাৰী (person who carries luggage) · hi क़ुली (person who carries luggage) · de Gepäckträger (person who carries luggage) · tr hamal (person who carries luggage) · vec bastàzo (person who carries luggage) · sh nòsāč (person who carries luggage) · es porteador (person who carries luggage) · hu hordár (person who carries luggage) · fr porteur (person who carries luggage) · nrf porteur (person who carries luggage) · es cargador (person who carries luggage) · sh nosàčica (person who carries luggage) · fa حمال (person who carries luggage) · hi मोटिया (person who carries luggage) · la gerō (person who carries luggage) · ca mosso (person who carries luggage) · ca bastaix (person who carries luggage) · ru носи́льщик (person who carries luggage) · es faquín (person who carries luggage) · es soguilla (person who carries luggage)

porter en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈpo(ː)ɹtɚ/ rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
• /ˈpɔɹtɚ/ (General-American)
• /ˈpoətə/ non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɔːtə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English porter, portere, portare, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French portier, from Late Latin portarius (“gatekeeper”), from Latin porta (“gate”).

Meanings

1. (countable) A person in control of the entrance to a building.
2. (countable) An employee who clears and cleans tables and puts bowling balls away.
3. (countable, uncountable) A strong, dark ale, originally favored by porters (etymology 1, sense 1), similar to a stout but less strong.
4. (Ireland, countable, uncountable) Stout (malt brew).
   • ‘Here, Pat, give us a g.p., like a good fellow.’ The curate brought him a glass of plain porter. The man drank it at a gulp and asked for a caraway seed. 1904–1907 (date written), James Joyce, “Counterparts”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, published June 1914, →OCLC, page 107:

Forms

Coordinates

stout

Deriveds

light porter · tackle-porter · portership · porterhouse · groom-porter · ticket-porter · hall porter

Descendants

pórtar

Translations (47)

pl porter (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · tl galaw (person in control of a building entrance) · cy cwrw du (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · nrf porteur (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · uk портьє (person in control of a building entrance) · pl portier (person in control of a building entrance) · ru портье (person in control of a building entrance) · fa دربان (person in control of a building entrance) · ga pórtar (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · fi portteri (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · ru по́ртер (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · sk vrátnik (person in control of a building entrance) · mk вра́тар (person in control of a building entrance) · fi ovenvartija (person in control of a building entrance) · pl osoba odkładająca kule do kręgli (employee who puts bowling balls away) · fa نگهبان (person in control of a building entrance) · uk швейца́р (person in control of a building entrance) · pl portierka (person in control of a building entrance) · nl portier (person in control of a building entrance) · hy պորտեր (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · mk по́ртир (person in control of a building entrance) · da porter (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · de Portier (person in control of a building entrance) · fi portinvartija (person in control of a building entrance) · mi poata (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · pt pórter (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · fi portieeri (person in control of a building entrance) · bg портер (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · hu portás (person in control of a building entrance) · pt porteiro (person in control of a building entrance) · es portero (person in control of a building entrance) · bg портиер (person in control of a building entrance) · sv dörrvakt (person in control of a building entrance) · alt эжик сакчы (person in control of a building entrance) · cs vrátný (person in control of a building entrance) · fo porterøl (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · nb portner (person in control of a building entrance) · sv portvakt (person in control of a building entrance) · de Pförtner (person in control of a building entrance) · da dørmand (person in control of a building entrance) · sv porter (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · sk vrátnička (person in control of a building entrance) · ga doirseoir (person in control of a building entrance) · fi eteisvahtimestari (person in control of a building entrance) · ca porter (person in control of a building entrance) · fr porter (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout) · izh portteri (strong, dark ale weaker than a stout)

porter en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈpo(ː)ɹtɚ/ rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
• /ˈpɔɹtɚ/ (General-American)
• /ˈpoətə/ non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɔːtə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English porter, portere, portare, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French portier, from Late Latin portarius (“gatekeeper”), from Latin porta (“gate”).

Meanings

1. To serve as a porter; to carry.

Forms