port

Definition

A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.

Etymology

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 Portus.

Example Sentences

• "peering in maps for ports and piers and roads"
• "From the ground, Colombo's port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away."
• "More broadly, the port is seen as a litmus test for France; if its most multicultural city can foster vast Muslim enclaves viewed with broad suspicion or hostility by the police, then what hope is there elsewhere?"