pore definition | Dictionary.com

pore

1 [pawr, pohr]

–verb (used without object), pored, por⋅ing.

1.	to read or study with steady attention or application: a scholar poring over a rare old manuscript.

2.	to gaze earnestly or steadily: to pore over a painting.

3.	to meditate or ponder intently (usually fol. by over, on, or upon): He pored over the strange events of the preceding evening.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME pouren < ?

Synonyms:
3. ponder, scrutinize, peruse, examine.

pore

2 [pawr, pohr]

–noun

1.	a minute opening or orifice, as in the skin or a leaf, for perspiration, absorption, etc.

2.	a minute interstice, as in a rock.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME poore < LL porus < Gk póros passage; see emporium, ford

Related forms:

porelike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To pore

pore¹ (pôr, pōr)

intr.v. pored, por·ing, pores

To read or study carefully and attentively: pored over the classified ads in search of a new job.
To gaze intently; stare.
To meditate deeply; ponder: pored on the matter.

[Middle English pouren.]

pore² (pôr, pōr)

A minute opening in tissue, as in the skin of an animal, serving as an outlet for perspiration, or in a plant leaf or stem, serving as a means of absorption and transpiration.
A space in rock, soil, or unconsolidated sediment that is not occupied by mineral matter and that allows the passage or absorption of fluids: Water seeped into the pores of the rock.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin porus, passage, from Greek poros; see per-² in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pore

Pore\, n. [F., fr. L. porus, Gr. ? a passage, a pore. See Fare, v.]

1. One of the minute orifices in an animal or vegetable membrane, for transpiration, absorption, etc.

2. A minute opening or passageway; an interstice between the constituent particles or molecules of a body; as, the pores of stones.

Pore

Pore\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pored; p. pr. & vb. n. Poring.] [OE. poren, of uncertain origin; cf. D. porren to poke, thrust, Gael. purr.] To look or gaze steadily in reading or studying; to fix the attention; to be absorbed; -- often with on or upon, and now usually with over."Painfully to pore upon a book." --Shak.

The eye grows weary with poring perpetually on the same thing. --Dryden.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pore

Spanish: poro,

German: die Pore,

Japanese: 毛穴

More Translations »

pore (v.)

c.1300, perhaps from O.E. *purian, suggested by spyrian "to investigate, examine," and spor "a trace, vestige."

pore (n.)

1387, from L. porus "a pore," from Gk. poros "a pore," lit. "passage, way," from PIE base *por- "going, passage" (cf. Gk. peirein "to pierce, run through," L. portus "harbor," porta "gate, door").

Main Entry: pore
Pronunciation: 'pO(&)r, 'po(&)r
Function: noun
: a minute opening especially in an animal or plant; especially : oneby which matter passes through a membrane

pore (pôr)
n.

A minute opening in an animal or plant tissue.
One of the minute openings of the sweat glands of the skin.

pore (pôr) Pronunciation Key

A tiny opening, as one in an animal's skin or on the surface of a plant leaf or stem, through which liquids or gases may pass.
A space in soil, rock, or loose sediment that is not occupied by mineral matter and allows the passage or absorption of fluids, such as water, petroleum, or air.

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