Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

Port of entry

 - 4 dictionary results

port

1  [pawrt, pohrt]
–noun
1. a city, town, or other place where ships load or unload.
2. a place along a coast in which ships may take refuge from storms; harbor.
3. Also called port of entry. Law. any place where persons and merchandise are allowed to pass, by water or land, into and out of a country and where customs officers are stationed to inspect or appraise imported goods.
4. a geographical area that forms a harbor: the largest port on the eastern seaboard.
5. Informal. an airport.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE < L portus harbor, haven; akin to ford

Related forms:
portless, adjective

Synonyms:
2. anchorage. See harbor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Port of entry
port of entry  
n.   pl. ports of entry
A place where travelers or goods may enter or leave a country under official supervision.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

port  (1)
"harbor," O.E. port "harbor, haven," reinforced by O.Fr. port, both O.E. and O.Fr. from L. portus "port, harbor," originally "entrance, passage," from PIE *prtu- "a going, a passage," from base *per- "to lead, pass over" (cf. Skt. parayati "carries over;" Gk. poros "journey, passage;" L. porta "gate," portare "passage;" Avestan peretush "passage, ford, bridge;" Armenian hordan "go forward;" Welsh rhyd "ford;" O.C.S. pariti "fly;" O.E. faran "to go, journey," O.N. fjörðr "inlet, estuary"). Meaning "left side of a ship" is attested from 1543, from notion of "the side facing the harbor" (when a ship is docked). It replaced larboard in common usage to avoid confusion with starboard (q.v.); officially so by Admiralty order of 1844 and U.S. Navy Department notice of 1846. Fig. sense "place of refuge" is attested from 1426; phrase any port in a storm first recorded 1749.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Port of entry on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way