Adjacent Words

Portfolio definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PORTFOLIO, n. [L. folium.] A case of the size of a large book, to keep loose papers in.
To have or hold the portfolio, is to hold the office of minister of foreign affairs.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a large, flat, thin case for carrying loose papers or drawings or maps; usually leather; "he remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio"
2: a set of pieces of creative work collected to be shown to potential customers or employers; "the artist had put together a portfolio of his work"; "every actor has a portfolio of photographs"
3: a list of the financial assets held by an individual or a bank or other financial institution; "they were disappointed by the poor returns on their stock portfolio"
4: the role of the head of a government department; "he holds the portfolio for foreign affairs"

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -lios) Etymology: Italian portafoglio, from portare to carry (from Latin) + foglio leaf, sheet, from Latin folium — more at blade Date: 1722 1. a hinged cover or flexible case for carrying loose papers, pictures, or pamphlets 2. [from the use of such a case to carry documents of state] the office and functions of a minister of state or member of a cabinet 3. the securities held by an investor ; the commercial paper held by a financial house (as a bank) 4. a set of pictures (as drawings or photographs) usually bound in book form or loose in a folder 5. a selection of a student's work (as papers and tests) compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -os) 1 a case for keeping loose sheets of paper, drawings, etc. 2 a range of investments held by a person, a company, etc. 3 the office of a minister of State (cf. minister without portfolio). 4 samples of an artist's work. Etymology: It. portafogli f. portare carry + foglio leaf f. L folium

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Portfolio Port*fol"io, n. [F. portefeuille; porter to carry + feuille a leaf. See Port to carry, and Folio.] 1. A portable case for holding loose papers, prints, drawings, etc. 2. Hence: The office and functions of a minister of state or member of the cabinet; as, to receive the portfolio of war; to resign the portfolio.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(portfolios) 1. A portfolio is a set of pictures by someone, or photographs of examples of their work, which they use when entering competitions or applying for work. After dinner that evening, Edith showed them a portfolio of her own political cartoons. N-COUNT 2. In finance, a portfolio is the combination of shares or other investments that a particular person or company has. (BUSINESS) Short-term securities can also be held as part of an investment portfolio. ...Roger Early, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors Corp. N-COUNT 3. In politics, a portfolio is a minister's responsibility for a particular area of a government's activities. He has held the defence portfolio since the first free elections in 1990. N-COUNT • A minister without portfolio is a politician who is given the rank of minister without being given responsibility for any particular area of a government's activities. PHRASE: minister inflects 4. A company's portfolio of products or designs is their range of products or designs. (BUSINESS) N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

baton, book end, book support, book table, book tray, book truck, bookcase, bookholder, bookrack, bookrest, bookshelf, bookstack, bookstand, caduceus, callable securities, cats and dogs, certificate of deposit, chain of office, corporation securities, crook, crosier, cross-staff, fasces, folder, folio, foreign securities, futures contract, gavel, government securities, junior securities, listed securities, mace, mantle, marketable securities, municipal securities, negotiable securities, noncallable securities, note, outstanding securities, over-the-counter securities, revolving bookcase, rod, rod of office, scepter, securities, senior securities, short-term note, stack, staff, stocks and bonds, subject to call, treasury bill, treasury bond, treasury certificate, treasury note, truncheon, undigested securities, unregistered securities, wand, wand of office, warrant