portal

See also: Portal, portál, and pòrtal

English

Portal of Chartres Cathedral

The north portal of Bramhope Tunnel, north of Leeds, England

Etymology

From Middle English portal, porttol, from Old French portal and Medieval Latin portāle, from porta.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔːtəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔːɹtəl/, [ˈpʰɔːɹɾɫ̩]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)təl

Noun

portal (plural portals)

1. An entrance, entry point, or means of entry.

   The local library, a portal of knowledge.

   • 2020 August 26, Tim Dunn, “Great railway bores of our time!”, in Rail, pages 48–49:

     Last, but very much not least, are the portals of the Ffestiniog Railway's Moelwyn Tunnel. The tunnel's story itself is well told - it was part of the preservationists' deviation required to get around a reservoir that had flooded the earlier route. But the reason for its inclusion here is that it is probably the most recently constructed, properly architected tunnel portal in Britain.

   1. A large primary adit as the main entrance to a mine.
2. (Internet) A website or page that acts as an entrance to other websites or pages on the Internet.

   The new medical portal has dozens of topical categories containing links to hundreds of sites.

3. (anatomy) A short vein that carries blood into the liver.
4. (science fiction and fantasy) A magical or technological doorway leading to another location, period in time or dimension.
5. (architecture) A lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions.
6. (architecture) Formerly, a small square corner in a room separated from the rest of an apartment by wainscoting, forming a short passage to another apartment.
7. A grandiose and often lavish entrance.

   Coordinate term: gate

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Thick with sparkling orient gems / The portal shone.

8. (bridge-building) The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.
9. A prayer book or breviary; a portass.
10. (US college sports) The NCAA transfer portal, a database and compliance tool designed to facilitate student-athletes who wish to change schools.
11. (computer graphics) A connecting window between volumes, in portal rendering.

Hyponyms

• (elevated corridor permitting access to a plane from an airport): See jet bridge

Derived terms

• antiportal
• captive portal
• hepatic portal vein
• megaportal
• porous portal
• portal hypertension
• portalization
• portal rendering
• portal site
• portal-to-portal
• portal venous
• vortal

 

Translations

grandiose entrance

• Belarusian: парта́л m (partál)
• Bulgarian: порта́л (bg) m (portál)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 正門／正门 (zh) (zhèngmén), 門戶／门户 (zh) (ménhù)

• Czech: portál (cs) m
• Dutch: portaal (nl) n
• Esperanto: pordego
• French: portique (fr) m
• Galician: pórtico (gl) m
• German: Portal (de) n
• Greek: πυλώνας (el) m (pylónas)
• Hungarian: kapu (hu), díszkapu (hu), bejárat (hu), portál (hu)
• Icelandic: skrauthlið n
• Italian: portale (it) m, portone (it) m
• Japanese: 正門 (ja) (せいもん, seimon)
• Korean: 정문(正門) (ko) (jeongmun)
• Ladin: rëjes f pl
• Latin: ianua (la) f, pylae f pl, valvae f pl, ostium n, porta (la) f, aditus (la) m
• Persian: درگاه (fa) (dargâh)
• Polish: portal (pl) m
• Portuguese: portal (pt) m
• Russian: порта́л (ru) m (portál)
• Spanish: portal (es) m
• Ukrainian: порта́л m (portál)

entry point

• Bulgarian: порта́л (bg) m (portál)
• Esperanto: portalo (eo), enirejo
• Finnish: portti (fi)
• French: portail (fr) m
• Georgian: პორტალი (ṗorṭali)
• German: Portal (de) n
• Hindi: प्रवेशमार्ग (praveśmārg)
• Indonesian: portal (id)
• Italian: portale (it) m
• Korean: 입구(入口) (ko) (ipgu)
• Persian: درگاه (fa) (dargâh)
• Polish: portal (pl) m
• Portuguese: portal (pt) m
• Spanish: portada (es) f

website

• Belarusian: парта́л m (partál)
• Bulgarian: порта́л (bg) m (portál)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 門戶網站／门户网站 (zh) (ménhù wǎngzhàn)

• Czech: portál (cs) m
• Dutch: portaal (nl) n
• Finnish: portaali (fi)
• French: portail (fr) m
• Georgian: პორტალი (ṗorṭali)
• German: Portal (de) n
• Greek: πύλη (el) f (pýli)
• Hungarian: portál (hu)
• Icelandic: vefgátt f
• Indonesian: portal (id)
• Irish: tairseach f
• Italian: portale (it) m
• Japanese: ポータル (ja) (pōtaru)
• Kazakh: портал (portal)
• Korean: 포털 (poteol)
• Persian: پورتال (portâl)
• Polish: portal (pl) m
• Portuguese: portal (pt) m
• Russian: порта́л (ru) m (portál)
• Spanish: portal (es) m
• Ukrainian: порта́л m (portál)

vein

• French: veine porte (fr) f
• Polish: żyła wrotna f
• Portuguese: veia porta f, porta (pt) f
• Spanish: vena porta f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} بوابة

Adjective

portal (not comparable)

1. (anatomy) Of or relating to a porta, especially the porta of the liver.

   the portal vein

Derived terms

• biportal
• nonportal
• portal triad
• portal vein
• uniportal

Verb

portal (third-person singular simple present portals, present participle portaling or portalling, simple past and past participle portaled or portalled)

1. (science fiction, fantasy) To use a portal (magical or technological doorway).

See also

• porthole
• porch

Further reading

• Category:Portals on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Anagrams

• patrol, pratol

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [purˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [porˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [poɾˈtal]

Adjective

portal m or f (masculine and feminine plural portals)

1. portal

Noun

portal m (plural portals)

1. portal

Galician

Portal of the Church of Saint James, A Coruña

Church of Vilaboa, A Pontenova

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese portal (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Medieval Latin portalis, from Latin porta (“gate”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /poɾˈtal/

Noun

portal m (plural portais)

1. portal

   Synonym: pórtico

   • 1395, M. González Garcés, editor, Historia de La Coruña. Edad Media, A Coruña: Caixa Galicia, page 555:

     seendo o Conçello da dicta vila da Crunna ajuntado por pregon en o portal da iglesia de Santiago da dicta vila. segundo que an de huso et de costume

     being the Council of the aforementioned town of A Coruña reunited by announcement at the portal of the church of Saint James of the mentioned town, as they have as customary usage

2. porch, portico

   Synonyms: alpendre, soportal

   • 1390, M. L. Méndez Fernández, editor, Contribución ó estudio dun libro das Tenzas da Catedral de Santiago. Edición crítica e estudio dos folios 1 a 27., Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, page 64:

     que façades ẽna dita cassa dous portaes cõ súas portas et alpénderes contra a rrúa do Çiqueello

     you must build at that house two porches, with their doors and their roofs, on the Sequelo street

   • 1434, M. González Garcés, editor, Historia de La Coruña. Edad Media, A Coruña: Caixa Galicia, page 609:

     Manda o conçello et os alcalldes, regidores et procuradores desta villa da crunna de parte de noso sennor el Rey et do dito conçello da dita villa et porque asi he ordenança antiga que nehunus çapateiros et outras quasquer personas que non sejan çapateiros et vezinnos et moradores da dita villa et en ela non pagan talla con os outros çapateiros vezjnnos da dita villa que non son confrades dos çapateiros asi como os çapateiros de portal, que non vsen dos ditos ofiçios de çapateria nen vendan çapatos nen botas nen outro calçado de coiro en publico nen ascondido nen los ponnan en tendas nen portaes nen anden a vender por la dita villa et pescaria dela Et desde Palavea et media legoa da villa enderredor a villa saluo se os venderen a engros aos ditos çapateiros que viuen et moran na dita villa ou eles os consentiren vender en seus portaes.

     the council and mayors, councilmen and agents of this town of A Coruña, on behalf of our lord the King and of this town council, and because so it is an old ordinance; that no shoemaker or whichever other person who is not a shoemaker and neighbour and dweller of the said town and in it they did not pay contributions with the other shoemakers neighbours of the said town and which are not a brother of the guild of the shoemakers, as well as the shoemakers who work at their porches; that they should not use of this office of shoemaking nor should they sell shoes nor boots nor any other leather footwear, nor publicly, nor in hiding, nor should they put them in shops nor porches nor should they go selling them around this town and its fishery [outskirts neighbourhood], nor from Palavea and half a league around this town, except if they sell them in bulk to the said shoemakers that live and dwell in the said town or if they let them sell at their porches

3. gate

   Synonym: cancela

4. hall

Derived terms

• Portal
• soportal

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “portal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “portal” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “portal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “portal”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “portal”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch portaal, from Middle French portal, from Old French portal, from Latin porta. Doublet of porta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɔr.tal]
• Hyphenation: por‧tal

Noun

portal (first-person possessive portalku, second-person possessive portalmu, third-person possessive portalnya)

1. portal
   1. gate.
   2. entry point.
   3. (colloquial) website as an entrance to other websites or pages on the Internet.
2. (colloquial) barrier at entry point.
3. (colloquial) marketplace.

Further reading

• “portal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Middle French

Alternative forms

• portail
• portaul

Etymology

Old French portal.

Noun

portal m (plural portaulx)

1. gate (doorlike structure usually outside of a building or property)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (portal)

Occitan

Alternative forms

• portau (Gascon, Provençal, Limousin, Auvernhat, Vivaro-Alpine)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /puɾˈtal/

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

Noun

portal m (plural portals)

1. (Languedoc) portal

Old French

Alternative forms

• portail

Etymology

porte +‎ -al.

Noun

portal oblique singular, m (oblique plural portaus or portax or portals, nominative singular portaus or portax or portals, nominative plural portal)

1. gate (doorlike structure usually outside of a building or property)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (portal)

Polish

portal sense 1

portal sense 3

Etymology

Borrowed from German Portal. Sense 4 is a semantic loan from English portal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔr.tal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔrtal
• Syllabification: por‧tal

Noun

portal m inan (related adjective portalowy)

2. (architecture) portal (ornamental door frame found in stately buildings, especially churches, castles, and historic houses)
3. (architecture) portal (decoratively framed entrance opening found in stately buildings, especially churches, castles, and historic houses)
5. (fantasy, science fiction) portal (magical or technological doorway leading to another location, period in time, or dimension)
7. (Internet) portal (website or page that acts as an entrance to other websites or pages on the Internet)

Declension

Declension of portal

	singular	plural
nominative	portal	portale
genitive	portalu	portali/portalów
dative	portalowi	portalom
accusative	portal	portale
instrumental	portalem	portalami
locative	portalu	portalach
vocative	portalu	portale

Further reading

• portal in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• portal in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• portal in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

portal

Etymology

From porta +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /poʁˈtaw/ [pohˈtaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /poʁˈtaw/ [pohˈtaʊ̯]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /poɾˈtaw/ [poɾˈtaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /poʁˈtaw/ [poχˈtaʊ̯]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /poɻˈtaw/ [poɻˈtaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /puɾˈtal/ [puɾˈtaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /puɾˈtal/ [puɾˈtaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /puɾˈta.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: por‧tal

Noun

portal m (plural portais)

1. (architecture) portal, doorway, gateway

Related terms

• porta

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Portal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /porˈtal/

Noun

portal n (plural portaluri)

1. (architecture) portal, doorway, gateway

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	portal	portalul		portaluri	portalurile
genitive-dative	portal	portalului		portaluri	portalurilor
vocative	portalule			portalurilor

Related terms

• arcadă

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Portal, from Latin porta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pǒrtaːl/

Noun

pòrtāl m (Cyrillic spelling по̀рта̄л)

1. (architecture) portal

Declension

Declension of portal

	singular	plural
nominative	portal	portali
genitive	portala	portala
dative	portalu	portalima
accusative	portal	portale
vocative	portale	portali
locative	portalu	portalima
instrumental	portalom	portalima

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /poɾˈtal/ [poɾˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: por‧tal

Etymology 1

From puerta.

Noun

portal m (plural portales)

1. (architecture) portal; porch
2. (Internet) portal

Related terms

• portón
• puerta

 

See also

• Portales

Etymology 2

From vena porta.

Adjective

portal m or f (masculine and feminine plural portales)

1. (anatomy) portal

Further reading

• “portal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28