Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—P

Port

meaning larboard or left side, is an abbreviation of porta il timone (carry the helm). Porting arms is carrying them on the left hand.

“To heel to port” is to lean on the leftside (Saxon, hyldan, to incline). “To lurch to port” is to leap or roll over on the left side (Welsh, llercian).

She gave a heel, and then a lurch to port,
And, going down head-foremost, sunk in short.

Byron: Don Juan.

Port. An air of music; martial music. Hence Tytler says, “I have never been able to meet with any of the ports here referred to” (Dissertation on Scotch Music). The word is Gaelic.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Port Royal Society
Porridge
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

More on Port from Fact Monster:

  • port, wine - port port [from Oporto], fortified wine made in Portugal from grapes grown in the Douro valley; ...
  • treaty port - treaty port treaty port, port opened to foreign trade by a treaty. The term is usually confined to ...
  • free port - free port free port, port, or section of a port, exempt from customs regulations (see tariff). ...
  • port, harbor - port port, a natural or artificial harbor and its terminal facilities for the transfer of goods and ...
  • Ellesmere Port - Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port, town and district (1991 pop. 78,800), Cheshire, W central England. ...

Related Content