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View synonyms for porter

porter

1

[ pawr-ter, pohr- ]

noun

  1. a person hired to carry burdens or baggage, as at a railroad station or a hotel.
  2. a person who does cleaning and maintenance work in a building, factory, store, etc.
  3. an attendant in a railroad parlor car or sleeping car.


porter

2

[ pawr-ter, pohr- ]

noun

  1. a person who has charge of a door or gate; doorkeeper.
  2. Roman Catholic Church. ostiary ( def 1 ).

porter

3

[ pawr-ter, pohr- ]

noun

  1. a heavy, dark-brown ale made with malt browned by drying at a high temperature.

Porter

4

[ pawr-ter, pohr- ]

noun

  1. Cole, 1893–1964, U.S. composer.
  2. David, 1780–1843, U.S. naval officer.
  3. his son David Dix·on [dik, -s, uh, n], 1813–91, Union naval officer in the Civil War.
  4. Edwin Stanton, 1870–1941, U.S. film director.
  5. Gene Gene Stratton Porter, 1868–1924, U.S. novelist.
  6. Sir George, 1920–2002, British chemist: Nobel Prize 1967.
  7. Katherine Anne, 1890–1980, U.S. writer.
  8. Noah, 1811–92, U.S. educator, writer, and lexicographer.
  9. Rodney Robert, 1917–85, British biochemist: Nobel Prize in medicine 1972.
  10. William Sydney O. Henry, 1862–1910, U.S. short-story writer.
  11. a male given name.

Porter

1

/ ˈpɔːtə /

noun

  1. PorterCole18931964MUSMUSIC: composerMUSIC: lyricist Cole. 1893–1964, US composer and lyricist of musical comedies. His most popular songs include Night and Day and Let's do It
  2. PorterGeorge, Baron Porter of Luddenham19202002MBritishSCIENCE: chemist George, Baron Porter of Luddenham. 1920–2002, British chemist, who shared a Nobel prize for chemistry in 1967 for his work on flash photolysis
  3. PorterKatherine Anne18901980FUSWRITING: short-story writerWRITING: novelist Katherine Anne. 1890–1980, US short-story writer and novelist. Her best-known collections of stories are Flowering Judas (1930) and Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939)
  4. PorterRodney Robert19171985MBritishSCIENCE: chemist Rodney Robert. 1917–85, British biochemist: shared the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1972 for determining the structure of an antibody
  5. William Sidney. original name of O. Henry


porter

2

/ ˈpɔːtə /

noun

  1. a person in charge of a gate or door; doorman or gatekeeper
  2. a person employed by a university or college as a caretaker and doorkeeper who also answers enquiries
  3. a person in charge of the maintenance of a building, esp a block of flats
  4. Also calledostiary RC Church a person ordained to what was formerly the lowest in rank of the minor orders

porter

3

/ ˈpɔːtə /

noun

  1. a person employed to carry luggage, parcels, supplies, etc, esp at a railway station or hotel
  2. (in hospitals) a person employed to move patients from place to place
  3. a railway employee who waits on passengers, esp in a sleeper
  4. a manual labourer

porter

4

/ ˈpɔːtə /

noun

  1. a dark sweet ale brewed from black malt

Porter

/ pôrtər /

  1. British biochemist who shared with George Edelman the 1972 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for their study of the chemical structure of antibodies.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of porter1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English portour, portur(e), porter, from Anglo-French portour, porter, from Middle French portour, from Old French porteour, from Late Latin portātōr- (stem of portātor, a derivative of portāre “to carry”; port 5, -or 2

Origin of porter2

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porter, porter(e), portar(e), from Anglo-French porter, portour, from Old French portier, from Late Latin portārius “gatekeeper,” equivalent to porta “door” + -ārius adjective and noun suffix; port 4, -er 2

Origin of porter3

First recorded in 1720–30; short for porter's ale, apparently originally brewed for porters

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Word History and Origins

Origin of porter1

C13: from Old French portier, from Late Latin portārius doorkeeper, from Latin porta door

Origin of porter2

C14: from Old French portour, from Late Latin portātōr, from Latin portāre to carry

Origin of porter3

C18: shortened from porter's ale, apparently because it was a favourite beverage of porters

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Example Sentences

Porter pointed out that Celgene had a structure set up where executive compensation was tied to sales goals for Revlimid.

From Fortune

Yet in the past two years, these stunning exchanges at congressional hearings have themselves gained plenty of attention beyond Capitol Hill — especially when Porter pulls out what one person on Twitter dubbed “her mighty whiteboard of truth.”

My favorite Porter hit, “Anything Goes,” was performed live at my request.

Gehl and Porter argue that the political industry has essentially co-opted the media, which spreads their messages for free.

We should note that most of the ideas Gehl and Porter are presenting here are not all that novel if you follow election reform even a little bit.

Coded references to risqué and sexual matters were catnip to the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Cole Porter.

But while that level of ‘haute couture’ is building the market, we want to be seen as more prêt-à-porter.

Porter was convicted and shortly after sentenced to death by a judge who compared him to a shark in a feeding frenzy.

The police found six eyewitnesses who reported seeing Anthony Porter at the pool that night and named him as the killer.

At that time, with the eyewitnesses all pointing at Porter, the case seemed open and shut.

The Café tender was asleep in his chair; the porter had gone off; the sentinel alone kept awake on his post.

To talk German was beyond the sweep of my dizziest ambition, but an Italian runner or porter instantly presented himself.

Arrived at the dépôt, I discharged my porter, sat down and waited for the place to open, with ample leisure for reflection.

Poindexter ordered his men to fall in, and they followed Porter, but at a more leisurely gait.

Porter and Poindexter are within eleven miles of the place, and Duffield expects to be attacked by morning.

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[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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