port-crayon 
chalk, charcoal, crayon, or the like, used in 
drawing. It is usually a kind of tube of metal, split at 
Port -cray-iii. 
one or both ends, anil tending to spring open there, but 
held fast by rings which elide upon it, so that the drawing, 
material is nipped and held firmly, 
portcullis (port-kul'is), n. [Early mod. E. also 
portevliiie, porciillis, piirculleise, pcrcullis, per- 
collis, pcrcollice, percollois, etc.; \ ME. portciil- 
lise, portcolise, poort colyce, porte colyse, < OF. 
porte coleice, porte coulisse, pnrtc cvlice, a slid- 
ing gate, portcullis, < porte (< L. porhi, door) 
+ coleice, coulisse, adj. (also as a noun, cou- 
lisse, a sliding gate, portcullis, F. coulisse, a 
groove), fern, of coleis, coulis, F. coulin, sliding, 
iron, somewhat resembling a harrow, made to 
slide in vertical grooves in the jambs of the en- 
trance-gate of a fortified place, to protect the 
gate in case of assault. The vertical bars were made 
either of iron or of wood pointed with iron at the bottom, 
in order to demolish whatever the portcullis might fall 
upon. There was usually a series of portcullises in the 
same gateway. They wero probably of Italian origin, and 
not older than the twelfth century. 
In to the town were but two entrees, and at eche entre 
two portecolyyes and stronge yatcs covered with Iren nailed, 
that shet witli two leves well and strongly barred. 
Merlin (E. E. T. 8.), ii. 254. 
Everich haddc, withoute fable, 
A porte-coli/s defensable. Ram. of the Rote, 1. 41C8. 
Pull up portcttttize .' down draw-brigg! 
My nephews are at hand. 
Avid Maitland (Child's Ballads, VI. 22). 
Where be those rosy cheeks th >t lately scorn'd 
The malice of injurious fates'.' 
Ah ! where 's that pearl portcidli* that adorn d 
Those dainty two-leav d gates'/ 
Qttarles, Emblems, ii. 9. 
Battering all the wall over the perculli*. 
J. Randolph, Honour Advanced, p. 3. (Daciet.) 
If I hail you out once, 
I would be at charge of a ptrcullig for you. 
Fletcher, Wit without Money, iv. 5. 
2. In her.: (a) Same 
as lattice, 3. (b) The 
representation of a 
portcullis : a rare 
bearing, but familiar 
in English art of 
the fifteenth century 
from its adoption asa 
badge by the Tudors 
and in the city arms 
of Westminster. 3. 
One of the pursui- 
vants of the English 
College of Heralds: 
so called from his 
distinctive badge. 
4f. A coin struck in 
the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth, with a 
portcullis stamped 
on the reverse. Port- 
cullis money consisted of 
crowns, half-crowns, shil- 
ling, and sixpences (reg- 
ulated according to the 
weight of the Spanish 
piaster or dollar and its 
divisions), and was struck 
for the use uf the East 
India Company (whence Reverse. 
it was also called Iiutia i>,,,, cu ii is shiiiine.-British Museum. 
money). s Size of lSeonirin.il. 
4631 
I had not so much as the least portcvUu of coin before. 
/;. Jonton, Every Man out of his Humour, iii. 1. 
portcullis (port-kul'is), r. t. [< portctillis, n.] 
To arm or furnish with a portcullis; hence, to 
bar; obstruct. 
Within my mouth you have engaol'd my tongue, 
Doubly purtcutlu'd with my teeth and lips. 
Shot., Klch. II., 1. 3. 167. 
And all those towns great Longshanks left his son, 
Now lost, which once he fortunately won. 
Within their strong port-cuUiz'd ports shall lie, 
And from their walls his sieges shall defy. 
Orayton, Mortimer to Queen Isabel. 
port de voix (por d6 vwo). [F., compass of 
the voice: port, bearing, carriage ; de, of; tx^r, 
voice: zee port 3 , n.,de*, voice.] In harpxichonl 
mtisic, an embellishment consisting of an appog- 
giatura and a single or double pinc. 
Porte (port). 11. [< F. Porte (= Sp. Pg. It. Por- 
ta), short for Sublime Porte (> E. Sublinte Porte), 
lit. lofty gate (see sublime and porft), tr. Turk. 
bdbi 'aliy (Bnbi Alt), the chief office of the Otto- 
man government, so called from the gat* of the 
palace at which justice was administered, lit. 
'high gate': bub, gate; 'ally, high.] The Otto- 
man court; the government of the Turkish em- 
pire. 
porte-acid fpOrt'as'id), . An instrument for 
holding a drop or more of acid for local applica- 
tion. 
porteaiguille (port'a-gwel'), . [F., < porter, 
carry, -r aiguille, needle: see aiguil'.r.] InsHiv/., 
same as needle-holder. 
porte-bonheur (port'bo-ner'), H. [F., < porter. 
carry, + boiilieur, good luck.] A charm, an amu- 
let, or a trinket carried after the fashion of an 
amulet, suspended to a bracelet or other article 
of personal adornment. 
porte-cochere (port' ko-shar'), H. [< Y.pnrteco- 
fherc : purtc, gate ; cocliere, < coclie. coach : see 
coach.] A carriage-entrance in a building; a 
gate and passage for carriages leading through 
a building, ns a town-house or hotel, from the 
street to an interior court. 
Philip was at the Hrttel des Bains at a very early hour 
next morning, and there he saw the general, with a woe- 
worn face, leaning on bis stick, and looking at his luggage, 
as it lay piled in the porte-cochere of the hotel. 
Thackeray, Philip, xvi. 
The great, wide porte-cochere in front, and the little back 
gate on the street in the rear. 
ffea Princeton lire., IV. 363 
pnrt-cruyon. 
[< port* + -</f-.] Hav- 
porte-craypn, " See 
pprtedt (por'ted), n. 
ing gates. 
These bright keys 
Designing power to ope the ptrrted skies. 
B. Jonson, Masque of Hymen. 
porte-drapeau (port'dra-po'), . [F.,<porto; 
carry, + anipran, standard, banner, flag.] An 
appliance for raising and displaying a flag. 
Port Egmont hen. See Ai. 
porte jpiet, See )>orlugue. 
port-electric (port'e-lek"trik), a. [< F. porter, 
carry, + E. electric.] Carrying by electricity: 
noting a proposed system for the rapid trans- 
mission of mail-packages, etc., the principal fea- 
ture of which consists in drawing a car through 
a series of coils that are momentarily energized 
as the car approaches. 
porte-lumiere (port'lu-miar*), n. [F., < porter, 
carry, + lumiere, a light.] An apparatus con- 
sisting of a plane mirror so mounted and fitted 
with adjusting screws that the user can easily 
control the direction of the reflected rays. It is 
much employed in physical experimentation as a substi- 
tute for the more elaborate and expensive hellostat. 
porte-monnaie (port'mo-na'), n. [F.,< porter, 
carry,+ nioiinaie, money: see tiioney.] A pocket- 
book ; especially, a small book or leather pouch 
with clasps, for holding money. 
portenauncet, . Same as purtcnance. 
portend tpor-tend'), v. t. [= It. portetidere; < 
L. portendere, point out, indicate, foretell, an 
archaic collateral form, belonging to religious 
language, of protendere, stretch forth, < pro, 
forth. + teiidere, stretch.] If. To stretch forth ; 
protend. 
Thy fate was next, O Phiestus ! doom'd to feel 
The great Idomenens' portended steel. 
Pope, Iliad, v. 58. (Richardson.) 
2. To betoken: presage; signify in advance; 
foreshow. 
Their [the Longobardes'I commlng into Italy . . . was 
portended by divers fearfull prodigies. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 109. 
Their mouths 
With hideous orifice gaped on us wide, 
Portending hollow truce. Miiton, P. L,, vi. 578. 
= Syn. 2. To forebode, angur, presage, threaten, fore- 
Khadow. See omen. 
porterage 
portent (por-tcnl ' or por'tent), H. [< OF. jmr- 
tente = Sp. Pg. It. portrntn, < L. purtmtiim, a 
sign, token, omen, portent, prop. neut. of por- 
tentus, pp. of portendere, portend: see portend. ] 
That wuich portends or foretokens; a sign or 
token ; an omen, generally of ill, or of some- 
thing to be feared. 
My loss by dire pnrtenti the god foretold. Dryden. 
= 8yn. Sign, Pntage, etc. See amen, xna foretell, v. t 
portentiont (por-teu'shon), n. [< I,. portendere, 
pp. porteatits, point put, portend : see portend.] 
Tiie act of portending or foreshowing; a por- 
tent. 
Why, although the red comets do carry the porlentiaiu 
of Mars, the brightly white should not be of the influence 
of Jupiter or Venus, . . . Is not absurd to doubt. 
Sir T. Broirne, Vulg. Err., vi. 14. 
portentivet (por-ten'tiv), a. [< portent + -ite.] 
Portentous. Itronte. 
portentous (por-ten'tus), a. [< OF. portentetu 
= Sp. Pg. It. portentoso, < L. portentosue, mon- 
strous, portentous, < portentum, a portent: gee 
portent.] 1. Of the nature of a portent; omi- 
nous; foreshowing ill. 
This portentous figure 
Comes armed through our watch, so like the king 
That was. Shale., Hamlet I. 1. 100. 
All Is deep silence, like the fearful calm 
That slumbers in the storm's portentou* pause. 
Shelley, Queen Mab, Iv. 
2. Monstrous; prodigious; wonderful. 
On the bankeof this ryuer there is a townc of such por- 
lentout bjggcnes as 1 dare not speakc. 
Jl. Eden, tr. of Peter Martyr (First Books on America, cd. 
(Arlwr, p. 1K4). 
Let us see whether we can discover In any part of their 
schemes the portentoui ability which may justify these 
bold undertakers In the superiority which they assume 
over mankind. tiurke, Kev. in France. 
The neck was thrice encircled by a white muslin cravat 
tied in a portentous l>w with drooping ends. 
Fortniyhlly liev., N. S., XI.II. :0. 
portentously (por-ten'tus-li), rfr. In a porten- 
tous manner; ominously; monstrouxlv; won- 
derfully. 
porter 1 " (por'ter), ii. [< ME. porter, portere, 
portour, < OF. (and F.) porticr = Sp. portent 
= Pg. porteiro = It. jiortiei'e, < LL. portariux, a 
doorkeeper, < L. purln, a door, gate : see port".] 
One who has the charge of a door or gate; a 
doorkeeper or gate-keeper. 
Com forth, I wol unto the gate go, 
Tbise portuur* ben nnkonnynge evermo. 
Chaucer, Troilus, v. ll:il. 
Bar but your (Jnte, and let your Purler cry 
Here's no Admittance. 
Conyretv, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love. 
Porter's lodge, a room or cottage near an entrance door 
or gate for the use of the keeper. 
porter- (por'ter), w. [< ME. portonr, portou-n; 
< OF. (and Y.)porteur = Sp. Pa.nortadorm It. 
portatorc, < ML. portator (cf . 1..L. fern, porta- 
ti'ijr), a carrier, < I,, portare, \t\t.jHirtiitiix, carry: 
see port 3 .] 1. One who bears or carries: a 
bearer; a carrier; specifically, a person who 
carries burdens, etc., or runs errands for hire: 
as, a railway or dock porter. 
Simon of Cyrcne Is forced to be the porter of Thy cross. 
Bp. Hull. Contemplations, V. 343. 
On the Fourth of July, at Bvc o'clock In the morning, 
the porter* called the sleepers out of their berths at Wick- 
ford Junction. C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 84. 
2. A law officer who carries a white or silver 
rod before the justices in evre. [Eng.] 3. 
Eccles., same as ostiary. 4. That which is used 
in bearing, supporting, or carrying, (at) A lever. 
B"iMnJ. (6) A bar of iron attached to a heavy forging, by 
which it is guided beneath the hammer or Into the furnace, 
being suspended by chains from a crane above ; also, a 
bar from whose end an article is forged. E. 11. Kniiiht. 
(c) In agri., a light two- or three-wheeled carriage used in 
steam-plowing to hold up from the ground the wire rope 
by which the plows are drawn, (d) In roaring, a term used 
In Scotland to denote twenty splits or dents In the reed, 
in plain work. In England called a beer. Porter's knot. 
Seetnofl. 
porter 11 (por'ter), n. [Short iorjinrler-hfer ( > F. 
porter-bieri-) or 'porters' beer: said to have been 
a favorite beverage of the London porters (see 
porter*), but perhaps so called in allusion to its 
strength and substance. There is no evidence 
that London porters, as distinguished from Lon- 
don cabmen or London artisans, favored this 
sort of beer.] A dark-brown malt liquor, of 
English origin. It is made either wholly or partially 
of high-dried malt, which gives color and imparts a spe- 
cial flavor to the liquor. Top-fermentation in large tuns, 
lasting from 48 to tiO hours, is followed by after-fermenta- 
tion in smaller casks or transport-barrels, lasting several 
days. The after-fermentation clarifies the liquor, from 
which the air is then excluded by bunging the casks. 
Fettled porter, see fettle. 
porterage 1 (por'ter-Aji, n. [< porter* + -age.] 
Thebusinessordutiesof aporter ordoork< 
