port4 (port)

[Origin uncertain.] I. trans. Naut., to turn or shift to the left or larboard side of a ship: as, to port the helm (that is, to shift the tiller over to the port or left side). The William had her sterne post broken, that the rudder did hang clean besides the sterne, so that she could in no wise port her helm. Hakluyt's Voyages , I. 448. II. in trans . Naut ., to turn or shift to the left or larboard, as a ship. port4 (port), n . [See port4 , v.] Naut ., the larboard or left side of a ship (when one is looking forward): as, "the ship heels to port "; "hard a port . " The left side of the ship is now called port in preference to the old larboard, to prevent confusion with starboard in orders, from resemblance of sound. U. S. Navy Department, Washington, Feb. 18, 1846. It having been repeatedly represented to the Department that confusion arises from the use of the words "larboard" and "starboard" in consequence of their similarity of sound, the word " port " is hereafter to be substituted for "larboard." George Bancroft , Sec. of the Navy. The whalemen are the only cla of seamen who have not adopted the term port instead of larboard, except in working ship. The larboard boat was this boat to their great-grandfathers, and it is so with the present generation. More especially is this the case in the Atlantic and South Pacific fleets; but recently the term port -boat has come into use in the Arctic fleet. Fisheries of U. S. , V. ii. 243. port (port), n. [= F. por to ; abbr. of port wine , prop. Port wine , Port being an English form of Pg. Oporto or Porto (orig. o por to , the port' or 'harbor'), a city in Portugal, whence the wine was orig. shipped: o , the, ille , that; por to , port us , harbor: see port1 .] A wine of Portugal, named from Oporto (see above). The name is usually given to a very dark-red or purplish wine, but it is sometimes pale. The wine usually sold under the name of port is partly artificial, prepared or "doctored" by blending, etc. Wine of absolutely pure growth is seldom to be got under the name. This wine is a favorite for imitation by blending and sweetening, etc., in American wines, both east and west, which are sold as American port. In England port is adulterated with the red Spanish wine of Tarragon a, which is a true wine, but procurable at half the cost of the cheapest port. Encyc. Brit ., XVII. 795. In fact, when people spoke of wine in these days, they generally meant port . They bought port by the hogshead, had it bottled, and laid down. They talked about their cellars solemnly; they brought forth bottles which had been laid down in the days when George the Third was king; they were great on body, bouquet, and beeswing; they told stories about wonderful port which they had been privileged to drink; they looked forward to a dinner chiefly on account of the port which followed it; real enjoyment only began when the cloth was removed, the ladies were gone, and the solemn pa age of the decanter had commenced. W. Besant , Fifty Years Ago, p. 166. port6 (port), n . [ port , a tune.] Martial music adapted to the bagpipes. The pipe's shrill port aroused each clan. Scott , L. of L. M., v. 14. 2. To carry in military fashion; carry (a wea- Port. An abbreviation of Portugal and Portu- pon, as a rifle) with both hands in a slanting guese . direction upward and toward the left, cro ing porta (por'tä), n .; pl. portæ (-tē). [NL., Port arms,” or, as now given, "Arms port." porta, a gate, door: see port2.] In an at.: ( a ) The entrance or great transverse fi ure of the liver: especially in the term vena portæ, the porta portal vein (which see, under port all ). See cut under liver. (b) The foramen of Monro; especially, the lateral orifice of the Y-shaped foramen which opens communication between each of the lateral ventricles of the brain and the third ventricle. - Porta hepatis, the transverse fi ure of the liver.- Porta lien is, the hilum of the spleen. Porta pulmonis, the hilum of the lung, an elongate elliptical rece where the bronchus, ve els, etc., enter or emerge from the lung.-Porta ren is, the notch or hilum of the kidney.