Adjacent Words

Portal definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PORTAL, n. In architecture, a little gate, where there are two gates of different dimensions.
1. A little square corner of a room, separated from the rest by a wainscot, and forming a short passage into a room.
2. A kind of arch of joiner's work before a door.
3. A gate; an opening for entrance; as the portals of heaven.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a grand and imposing entrance (often extended metaphorically); "the portals of the cathedral"; "the portals of heaven"; "the portals of success"
2: a site that the owner positions as an entrance to other sites on the internet; "a portal typically has search engines and free email and chat rooms etc." [syn: portal site, portal]
3: a short vein that carries blood into the liver [syn: portal vein, hepatic portal vein, portal, vena portae]

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Charles Frederick Algernon 1893-1971 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford British air marshal

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin portale city gate, porch, from neuter of portalis of a gate, from Latin porta gate — more at port Date: 14th century 1. door, entrance; especially a grand or imposing one 2. the whole architectural composition surrounding and including the doorways and porches of a church 3. the approach or entrance to a bridge or tunnel 4. a communicating part or area of an organism; specifically the point at which something (as a pathogen) enters the body 5. a site serving as a guide or point of entry to the World Wide Web and usually including a search engine or a collection of links to other sites arranged especially by topic II. adjective Etymology: New Latin porta transverse fissure of the liver, from Latin, gate Date: 1845 1. of or relating to the transverse fissure on the underside of the liver where most of the vessels enter 2. of, relating to, or being a portal vein or a portal system <portal circulation>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. a doorway or gate etc., esp. a large and elaborate one. Etymology: ME f. OF f. med.L portale (neut. adj.): see PORTAL(2) 2. adj. 1 of or relating to an aperture in an organ through which its associated vessels pass. 2 of or relating to the portal vein. Phrases and idioms: portal vein a vein conveying blood to the liver from the spleen, stomach, pancreas, and intestines. Etymology: mod.L portalis f. L porta gate

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Portal Por"tal, n. [OF. portal, F. portail, LL. portale, fr. L. porta a gate. See Port a gate.] 1. A door or gate; hence, a way of entrance or exit, especially one that is grand and imposing. Thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone. --Milton. From out the fiery portal of the east. --Shak. 2. (Arch.) (a) The lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions. (b) Formerly, a small square corner in a room separated from the rest of the apartment by wainscoting, forming a short passage to another apartment. (c) By analogy with the French portail, used by recent writers for the whole architectural composition which surrounds and includes the doorways and porches of a church. 3. (Bridge Building) The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces. 4. A prayer book or breviary; a portass. [Obs.] Portal bracing (Bridge Building), a combination of struts and ties which lie in the plane of the inclined braces at a portal, serving to transfer wind pressure from the upper parts of the trusses to an abutment or pier of the bridge.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Portal Por"tal, a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to a porta, especially the porta of the liver; as, the portal vein, which enters the liver at the porta, and divides into capillaries after the manner of an artery. Note: Portal is applied to other veins which break up into capillaries; as, the renal portal veins in the frog.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(portals) 1. A portal is a large impressive doorway at the entrance to a building. (LITERARY) I went in through the royal portal. N-COUNT 2. On the Internet, a portal is a site that consists of links to other websites. (COMPUTING) N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Gate, gateway, entrance, passage-way, door.

Moby Thesaurus

French door, archway, back door, barway, bulkhead, carriage entrance, cellar door, cellarway, door, doorjamb, doorpost, doorway, entrance, entrance hall, entranceway, entry, entryway, foyer, front door, galilee, gate, gatepost, gateway, hatch, hatchway, lintel, lobby, narthex, porch, porte cochere, portico, postern, propylaeum, pylon, scuttle, side door, stile, stoa, storm door, threshold, tollgate, trap, trap door, turnpike, turnstile, vestibule