Emily Dickinson Lexicon

port (-s), n. [OE < L. port-us, haven, harbor.] (webplay: air, bear, cargo, commerce, different, easily, gale, heaven, lie, place, put, sea, side, turn, voice, waits, wind).

1. Harbor; cove; bay; landing; pier; wharf; sheltered inlet; docking place; [fig.] haven; sanctuary; safe place; refuge from the storm.
2. Seaside city; major center of shipping and commerce.
3. Unloading place; [fig.] friend; lover; supportive person who listens and comforts. (506/349)
4. [Fig.] death; decease; final resting place; occasion of leaving mortality.

portable, adj. [Fr. < Late L. portābilis, that may be carried < portāre, bear, carry.] (webplay: heaven).

Not fixed; not immovable; capable of being dismantled; [fig.] changeable; no longer perceived as existing.

portentous, adj. [L. portentōsus < portentum, sign, omen, monster, marvelous tale.] (webplay: ignorance).

1. Ominous; foreboding; threatening.
2. Inevitable; impending; imminent; destined; pre-determined.
3. Enormous; immense; monstrous; awful.
4. Strange; unusual; peculiar; queer; curious; remarkable; extraordinary; amazing; shocking; appalling; dismaying; disconcerting.
5. [Fig.] secretive; implied; implicit; unspoken.

portentous (-ly), adv. [see portentous.]

1. Ominously; disturbingly; frighteningly; dreadfully; chillingly; horrifyingly; in a terrifying manner.
2. Suspensefully; in a manner causing pleasurable tension; in a way calculated to arouse intense curiosity.

porter, n. [ME and AFr < OFr < late L. portārius, door-keeper < porta, door.] (webplay: bear, heavy).

1. Gatekeeper; doorman; guard; servant employed to watch over an entrance.
2. Person who is paid to carry burdens; one who conveys heavy luggage; [fig.] sufferer; person experiencing difficult trials.

portico, n. [It. < L. porticus, porch, colonnade < porta, door, gate.] (webplay: bar, door, easily, hand, order).

Porch; patio; sheltered doorway; covered entrance.

portion, n. [ME < OFr < L. portiō-nem, share, part, proportion.] (webplay: assigned, child, fortune, heard, ways).

1. Part; piece; measure; amount; quantity; magnitude.
2. Allotment; allocation; rightful share; deserved apportionment.
3. Riches; wealth; fortune; property; possessions; material belongings.
4. [Fig.] lot; destiny; fate.
5. [Fig.] life; mortality; span of years; opportunity; chance.
6. [Fig.] gift; endowment; bestowal.

portly, adj. [Fr. port, bearing, manners, gait < L. portāre, bear, carry.] (webplay: business, little, shore).

Plump; fat; corpulent; full-figured; well-fed.

portrait (-s), n. [Fr. portraire, portray < L. protractus, plan, image, portrait.] (webplay: face).

1. Picture; painting; sketch; likeness; drawn representation.
2. Face; image.

portray, v. [ME < OFr pourtraire, portray, fashion, represent < L. protrahěre, draw forth, reveal, extend, prolong.] (webplay: horseback).

Describe; express; recount; relate; report; elaborate on; give an account of; [fig.] explain; attest; certify; account for; prove.