English

Proper noun

Portus

1. (chiefly in the historical of the Roman Empire) A large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome, situated on the north bank of the mouth of the River Tiber, established and enlarged (respectively) by the Emperors Claudius (10 BC–AD 54) and Trajan (AD 53–117), and connected to the Pons Aemilius of Rome by the Via Portuensis.

See also

• Ostia

Translations

Latin

Etymology

Presumably a use as a proper noun of the common noun portus ‎(“harbour”, “port”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpor.tus/, [ˈpɔr.tʊs]
• Homophone: portus

Proper noun

Portus m ‎(genitive Portūs); fourth declension

1. (more fully “Portus Ostiēnsis Augustī” or, later, “Portus Rōmae”) Portus (large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome)

Declension

Fourth declension, with locative.

See also

• Ostia

Descendants

• English: Portus
• Italian: Porto

Esperanto

Verb

portus

1. conditional of porti

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *portus, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus ‎(“crossing”). Cognates include Kurmanji pir ‎(“bridge”), Russian переть ‎(peretʹ, “push forward”), Old Norse fjǫrðr ‎(“firth, fjord”) and Old English ford (English ford). See also porta.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpor.tus/, [ˈpɔr.tʊs]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpor.tus/
• Homophone: Portus

Noun

portus m ‎(genitive portūs); fourth declension

1. harbour, port
2. haven, refuge, asylum, retreat
3. warehouse

Declension

Fourth declension.

Derived terms

• Argōus Portus
• Portus
• Portūnus

Descendants

References

• portus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• portus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• PORTUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “portus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to take refuge in philosophy: in portum philosophiae confugere
    
  • the ships sail from the harbour: naves ex portu solvunt
    
  • the ships sail out on a fair wind: ventum (tempestatem) nancti idoneum ex portu exeunt
    
  • to be unable to land: portu, terra prohiberi (B. C. 3. 15)
    
  • to keep the coast and harbours in a state of blockade: litora ac portus custodia clausos tenere
    
• portus in Richard Stillwell et al., editor (1976) The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill