porter

See also: Porter and pórter

English

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɹtɚ/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔːtə/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /ˈpo(ː)ɹtɚ/
(non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /ˈpoətə/
Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

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”).

Noun

porter (plural porters)

A person who carries luggage and related objects.
By the time I reached the train station I was exhausted, but fortunately there was a porter waiting.
- 2022 December 14, David Turner, “The Edwardian Christmas getaway...”, in RAIL, number 972, page 35:
  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. […] In contrast, the Westminster Gazette in 1912 was much more positive about railway staff, praising the "...army of porters hustling and bustling hither and thither with barrows groaning under the weight of bags and baggage and... the ever-patient and long-suffering guards, courteously giving information and advice to the querulous passengers... to the porter the Christmas season means a continuous round of heavy labour, extremely tiring to both nerves and temper, and this fact the public too often seem either to forget or ignore."
(entomology) An ant having the specialized role of carrying.
(computing) One who ports software (makes it usable on another platform).
- 1998, Michael McMillan, Perl from the Ground Up, page 45:
  […] useful only if you are a Perl porter or implementor and you want to check the efficiency of the hashing algorithm.

Derived terms

rope porter

Translations

person who carries luggage

Arabic: حَمَّال m (ḥammāl)
Armenian: բեռնակիր (hy) (beṙnakir)
Assamese: ভাৰী (bhari), কুলি (kuli), মটীয়া (motia)
Bulgarian: носач (bg) m (nosač)
Catalan: bastaix (ca) m, mosso (ca) m, portador m
Danish: porter (da) c, bærer c
Dutch: kruier (nl) m
Egyptian:

(ẖrj-qnj)
Finnish: kantaja (fi)
French: porteur (fr) m
Gallo: portou m
German: Gepäckträger (de) m
Greek: αχθοφόρος (el) m (achthofóros)
Ancient: σκευόφορος m (skeuóphoros)
Hindi: क़ुली m (qulī), कुली (hi) m (kulī), वाहक (hi) m (vāhak), बैरा (hi) m (bairā), मोटिया (hi) m (moṭiyā)
Hungarian: hordár (hu)
Irish: póirtéir m, aistire m (ecclesiastical)
Italian: facchino (it) m, bastagio m
Korean: 짐꾼 (jimkkun)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: باربەر (barber), حەماڵ (ḧemall)
Latin: gerō (la) m, bāiulus m
Macedonian: но́сач m (nósač)
Maori: kaiamo
Norman: portchi m (Jersey), porteur m (Jersey)
Norwegian: bærer m
Persian: بارکش (fa) (bâr-keš), باربر (fa) (bâr-bar), حمال (fa) (hammâl) (archaic), کول‌بر (kul-bar) (for heavy objects carried on back)
Polish: numerowy m, bagażowy (pl) m
Portuguese: carregador (pt) m
Romanian: hamal (ro)
Russian: носи́льщик (ru) m (nosílʹščik), гру́зчик (ru) m (grúzčik)
Sanskrit: वाहक (sa) m (vāhaka)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: но̀са̄ч m, носа̀чица f

Roman: nòsāč (sh) m, nosàčica (sh) f
Spanish: mozo (es) m, cargador (es) m, changador m, changarín (es) m, faquín m, fardero m, mecapal m, porteador m, soguilla m
Swahili: hamali, hamali class ma
Swedish: bärare (sv) c
Urdu: قلی m (qulī)
Venetian: bastàzo m
Yiddish: טרעגער m (treger)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

porter (countable and uncountable, plural porters)

(countable) A person in control of the entrance to a building.
(countable, bowling) An employee who clears and cleans tables and puts bowling balls away.
(countable, uncountable, beer) A strong, dark ale, originally favored by porters (etymology 1, sense 1), similar to a stout but less strong.
Coordinate term: stout
(beer, Ireland) Stout (malt brew).
- 1904–1907 (date written), James Joyce, “Counterparts”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, published June 1914, →OCLC, page 107:
  “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.

Derived terms

Translations

person in control of a building entrance

Bulgarian: портиер (bg) m (portier)
Catalan: porter (ca) m
Danish: dørmand c
Dutch: portier (nl) m
Hungarian: portás (hu)
Macedonian: вра́тар m (vrátar), по́ртир m (pórtir)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: portner (no) m
Persian: دربان (fa) (darbân), نگهبان (fa) (negahbân)
Portuguese: porteiro (pt) m
Russian: портье (ru) (portʹje)
Spanish: portero (es) m
Swedish: portvakt (sv) c, dörrvakt (sv) c
Tagalog: galaw
Ukrainian: швейца́р m (švejcár), портьє m (portʹje)

employee who puts bowling balls away

strong, dark ale weaker than a stout

Armenian: պորտեր (porter)
Bulgarian: портер m (porter)
Danish: porter (da) c
Faroese: porterøl
Finnish: portteri (fi)
French: porter (fr) m
Ingrian: portteri
Irish: pórtar m
Maori: poata
Norman: porteur m (Jersey)
Portuguese: pórter m
Russian: по́ртер (ru) m (pórter)
Swedish: porter (sv) c

(Ireland) another name for stout — see stout

Verb

porter (third-person singular simple present porters, present participle portering, simple past and past participle portered)

To serve as a porter; to carry.

Anagrams

Perrot, perrot, porret, pretor, proter, report, troper

Catalan

Etymology

From porta +‎ -er or from Old Catalan porter, from Late Latin portārius, from Latin porta. Compare French portier.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central) [purˈte]
IPA^(key): (Balearic) [porˈte]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [poɾˈteɾ]
Audio: (file)

Noun

porter m (plural porters)

doorman, doorkeeper, gatekeeper
(sports) goalkeeper

Derived terms

porteria

Related terms

porta

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French porter, from Latin portāre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“go, traverse”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /pɔʁ.te/
Audio: (file)

Verb

porter

to carry
to support, to bear
to wear
(transitive with sur) to be about, to concern
Sur quoi portait la question ? ― What was the question concerning?
(reflexive, se porter) to feel, to carry one's self
Je me porte mieux. ― I am feeling better.

Il se porte bien. ― He's in good health.

Conjugation

Conjugation of porter (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	compound	avoir + past participle
infinitive	simple	porter
present participle or gerund¹	simple	portant /pɔʁ.tɑ̃/
present participle or gerund¹	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		porté /pɔʁ.te/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	porte /pɔʁt/	portes /pɔʁt/	porte /pɔʁt/	portons /pɔʁ.tɔ̃/	portez /pɔʁ.te/	portent /pɔʁt/
	imperfect	portais /pɔʁ.tɛ/	portais /pɔʁ.tɛ/	portait /pɔʁ.tɛ/	portions /pɔʁ.tjɔ̃/	portiez /pɔʁ.tje/	portaient /pɔʁ.tɛ/
	past historic²	portai /pɔʁ.te/	portas /pɔʁ.ta/	porta /pɔʁ.ta/	portâmes /pɔʁ.tam/	portâtes /pɔʁ.tat/	portèrent /pɔʁ.tɛʁ/
	future	porterai /pɔʁ.tə.ʁe/	porteras /pɔʁ.tə.ʁa/	portera /pɔʁ.tə.ʁa/	porterons /pɔʁ.tə.ʁɔ̃/	porterez /pɔʁ.tə.ʁe/	porteront /pɔʁ.tə.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	porterais /pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/	porterais /pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/	porterait /pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/	porterions /pɔʁ.tə.ʁjɔ̃/	porteriez /pɔʁ.tə.ʁje/	porteraient /pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior²	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	porte /pɔʁt/	portes /pɔʁt/	porte /pɔʁt/	portions /pɔʁ.tjɔ̃/	portiez /pɔʁ.tje/	portent /pɔʁt/
(simple tenses)	imperfect²	portasse /pɔʁ.tas/	portasses /pɔʁ.tas/	portât /pɔʁ.ta/	portassions /pɔʁ.ta.sjɔ̃/	portassiez /pɔʁ.ta.sje/	portassent /pɔʁ.tas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect²	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	~~nous~~	~~vous~~	–
simple		—	porte /pɔʁt/	—	portons /pɔʁ.tɔ̃/	portez /pɔʁ.te/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
¹ The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
² In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Conjugation of se porter (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	compound	s'être + past participle
infinitive	simple	se porter
present participle or gerund¹	simple	se portant /sə pɔʁ.tɑ̃/
present participle or gerund¹	compound	ayant or étant + past participle
past participle		porté /pɔʁ.te/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	me porte /mə pɔʁt/	te portes /tə pɔʁt/	se porte /sə pɔʁt/	nous portons /nu pɔʁ.tɔ̃/	vous portez /vu pɔʁ.te/	se portent /sə pɔʁt/
	imperfect	me portais /mə pɔʁ.tɛ/	te portais /tə pɔʁ.tɛ/	se portait /sə pɔʁ.tɛ/	nous portions /nu pɔʁ.tjɔ̃/	vous portiez /vu pɔʁ.tje/	se portaient /sə pɔʁ.tɛ/
	past historic²	me portai /mə pɔʁ.te/	te portas /tə pɔʁ.ta/	se porta /sə pɔʁ.ta/	nous portâmes /nu pɔʁ.tam/	vous portâtes /vu pɔʁ.tat/	se portèrent /sə pɔʁ.tɛʁ/
	future	me porterai /mə pɔʁ.tə.ʁe/	te porteras /tə pɔʁ.tə.ʁa/	se portera /sə pɔʁ.tə.ʁa/	nous porterons /nu pɔʁ.tə.ʁɔ̃/	vous porterez /vu pɔʁ.tə.ʁe/	se porteront /sə pɔʁ.tə.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	me porterais /mə pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/	te porterais /tə pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/	se porterait /sə pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/	nous porterions /nu pɔʁ.tə.ʁjɔ̃/	vous porteriez /vu pɔʁ.tə.ʁje/	se porteraient /sə pɔʁ.tə.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of s'être + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of s'être + past participle
	past anterior²	past historic of s'être + past participle
	future perfect	future of s'être + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of s'être + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	me porte /mə pɔʁt/	te portes /tə pɔʁt/	se porte /sə pɔʁt/	nous portions /nu pɔʁ.tjɔ̃/	vous portiez /vu pɔʁ.tje/	se portent /sə pɔʁt/
(simple tenses)	imperfect²	me portasse /mə pɔʁ.tas/	te portasses /tə pɔʁ.tas/	se portât /sə pɔʁ.ta/	nous portassions /nu pɔʁ.ta.sjɔ̃/	vous portassiez /vu pɔʁ.ta.sje/	se portassent /sə pɔʁ.tas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of s'être + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect²	imperfect subjunctive of s'être + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	~~nous~~	~~vous~~	–
simple		—	porte-toi /pɔʁt.twa/	—	portons-nous /pɔʁ.tɔ̃.nu/	portez-vous /pɔʁ.te.vu/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	—	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	—
¹ The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
² In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

From English porter.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /pɔʁ.tɛʁ/
Homophone: portèrent

Noun

porter m (plural porters)

porter (beer)
- 1884, Joris-Karl Huysmans, chapter XI, in À rebours [Against the Grain]:
  il […] étancha sa soif avec le porter, cette bière noire qui sent le jus de réglisse dépouillé de sucre.
  He quenched his thirst with some porter, that dark beer which smells of unsweetened liquorice.

Anagrams

Perrot

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin portāre, present active infinitive of portō (“bring, carry”).

Verb

porter

to carry

Conjugation

Ladin conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of porter (first conjugation)

person	singular			plural
infinitive	porter, porté
auxiliary verb		avei	gerund		portan
past participle		porté
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	ie	tu	el / ela	nos	vos	ei / eles
present	porte, porteie	portes, porteies	porta, porteia, portea	porton	porteis	porta, porteia
imperfect	portove	portoves	portova	portovan	portovais	portova
future	portaré	portaras	portarà	portaron	portareis	portarà
subjunctive	che ie	che tu	che el / ela	che nos	che vos	che ei / eles
present	porte, porteie	portes, porteies	porte, porteie	porton	porteis	porte
imperfect	portasse	portasses	portassa	portassan	portassais	portassa
imperative	–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
imperative	—	porta, porteia	—	porton	portede	—

Latin

Verb

porter

first-person singular present passive subjunctive of portō

Middle English

Alternative forms

portare, porteour, portere, portir, portor, portour

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman porter, portour, from a combination of Late Latin portārius and portātor, portātōrem; equivalent to port +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpɔrtər/, /pɔrˈteːr/

Noun

porter (plural porters)

gatekeeper, doorkeeper

Descendants

English: porter
Yola: porther

References

“portē̆r, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French porter, from Latin portō, portāre.

Verb

porter

to carry
porter la banniere
to carry the banner

Conjugation

Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of porter

infinitive	compound	avoir + past participle
infinitive	simple	porter
present participle¹ or gerund²	simple	portant
present participle¹ or gerund²	compound	present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle
past participle		porté
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ie (i’)	tu	il, elle	nous	vous	ilz, elles
(simple tenses)	present	porte	portes	porte	portons	portez	portent
	imperfect	portois, portoys	portois, portoys	portoit, portoyt	portions, portyons	portiez, portyez	portoient, portoyent
	past historic	porta	portas	porta	portasmes	portastes	porterent
	future	porterai, porteray	porteras	portera	porterons	porterez	porteront
	conditional	porterois, porteroys	porterois, porteroys	porteroit, porteroyt	porterions, porteryons	porteriez, porteryez	porteroient, porteroyent
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que ie (i’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ilz, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	porte	portes	porte	portons	portez	portent
(simple tenses)	imperfect	portasse	portasses	portast	portassions	portassiez	portassent
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	~~nous~~	~~vous~~	–
simple		—	porte	—	portons	portez	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
¹ The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679.
² The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180).

Descendants

French: porter

Norman

Alternative forms

portaïr (Guernsey)

Etymology

From Old French porter, from Latin portō, portāre.

Pronunciation

Audio (Jersey): (file)

Verb

porter

(Jersey) to carry
(Jersey) to wear

Derived terms

porter un coup (“to strike”)
portchi (“porter”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

porter m

indefinite plural of port

Old French

Etymology

From Latin portāre, present active infinitive of portō.

Verb

porter

to carry
porter la baniere
to carry the banner
to carry a child (to be pregnant)

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-ts, *-tt are modified to z, t. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

Conjugation of porter (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		porter			avoir porté
gerund		en portant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		portant
past participle		porté
person		singular			plural
person		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	port	portes	porte	portons	portez	portent
	imperfect	portoie, porteie, portoe, porteve	portoies, porteies, portoes, porteves	portoit, porteit, portot, porteve	portiiens, portiens	portiiez, portiez	portoient, porteient, portoent, portevent
	preterite	portai	portas	porta	portames	portastes	porterent
	future	porterai	porteras	portera	porterons	porteroiz, portereiz, porterez	porteront
	conditional	porteroie, portereie	porteroies, portereies	porteroit, portereit	porteriiens, porteriens	porteriiez, porteriez	porteroient, portereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	port	porz	port	portons	portez	portent
simple tenses	imperfect	portasse	portasses	portast	portissons, portissiens	portissoiz, portissez, portissiez	portassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
compound tenses	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
imperative		—	porte	—	portons	portez	—

Related terms

portour

Descendants

Middle French: porter
- French: porter

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English porter or French porter.

Noun

porter n (uncountable)

porter (beer)

Declension

declension of porter (singular only)

	singular
n gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) porter	porterul
genitive/dative	(unui) porter	porterului
vocative	porterule

porter

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

French

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Anagrams

Ladin

Etymology

Verb

Conjugation

Latin

Verb

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Descendants

References

Middle French

Etymology

Verb

Conjugation

Descendants

Norman

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

Old French

Etymology

Verb

Conjugation

Related terms

Descendants

Romanian

Etymology

Noun

Declension