portative (portativ)

[ As whanne hit hadde of the folde flesch and blod ytake, Tho was it portatyf and pershaunt as the poynt of a nelde. Piers Plowman (C), ii. 154. As fer forth... as may be shewyd in sosmalan instrument port at if aboute. Chaucer, Astrolabe, Prol. Its weight and size seem to have originated a distinction between portable and stationary organs, which began early, and was perpetuated in the terms frequently used of " Portative " and "Positive." Grove's Dict. Music, II. 575. 2. Of or pertaining to carrying or the power of carrying: as, a " portative memory," Encyc . Brit ., VIII. 780.- Portative force of a magnet. See magnet.- Portative organ. See organ1 , and compare regal . Portax (por'taks), n. [NL. (Hamilton Smith, 1827), πόρταξ , equiv. to πόρτις , a calf.] Α genus of Bovidæ , containing only the nilgau, Portax pictus . This is an Indian antelope, another of whose names is Boselaphus tragocamelus , and which is also known as blue cow (a translation of its native name) and blue antelope (a name properly belonging to the African blauwbok). See cut under nilgau . port-bar (port'bär), n. Naut .: (a) A strong bar of oak used to secure the ports in a gale, by bracing the closed port on the inside. (b) A boom formed of spars or trees lashed together, and moored acro the entrance of a port to prevent entrance or egre . (c) Same as bar1 , 4 ( α ) . port-bit (port'bit), п. In harne , any bit having a port, or curved mouthpiece. E. H. Knight.