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Added 9 October 2026

porter

/ˈpɔɹtɚ/ noun

In Latin: gerō, bāiulus Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about porter at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A person who carries luggage and related objects; one who carried luggage or did manual labour in the transloading of cargo.
goods porter
An ant having the specialized role of carrying.
One who ports software (makes it usable on another platform).

noun

A person in control of the entrance to a building.
An employee who clears and cleans tables and puts bowling balls away.
A strong, dark ale, originally favored by porters (etymology 1, sense 1), similar to a stout but less strong.

verb

To serve as a porter; to carry.

Origin

From Middle English porter, portere, portier, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French porteor, from Late Latin portātor, from past participle of Latin portāre (“to carry”). By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -er.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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