portal
(noun) a grand and imposing entrance (often extended metaphorically); “the portals of the cathedral”; “the portals of heaven”; “the portals of success”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Portal
A ghost town in California.
A town in Georgia, United States.
A municipality of North Dakota.
• patrol, pratol
portal (plural portals)
An entrance, entry point, or means of entry.
(Internet) A website or page that acts as an entrance to other websites or pages on the Internet.
(anatomy) A short vein that carries blood into the liver.
(science fiction and fantasy) A magical or technological doorway leading to another location, period in time or dimension.
(architecture) A lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions.
(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.
A grandiose and often lavish entrance.
(bridge-building) The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.
A prayer book or breviary; a portass.
• (elevated corridor permitting access to a plane from an airport): See jet bridge
portal (not comparable)
(anatomy) Of or relating to a porta, especially the porta of the liver.
• patrol, pratol
Source: Wiktionary
Por"tal, n. Etym: [OF. portal, F. portail, LL. portale, fr. L. porta a gate. See Port a gate.]
1. A door or gate; hence, a way of entrance or exit, especially one that is grand and imposing. Thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone. Milton. From out the fiery portal of the east. Shak.
2. (Arch.) (a) The lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions. (b) Formerly, a small square corner in a room separated from the rest of the apartment by wainscoting, forming a short passage to another apartment. (c) By analogy with the French portail, used by recent writers for the whole architectural composition which surrounds and includes the doorways and porches of a church.
3. (Bridge Building)
Definition: The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.
4. A prayer book or breviary; a portass. [Obs.] Portal bracing (Bridge Building), a combination of struts and ties which lie in the plane of the inclined braces at a portal, serving to transfer wind pressure from the upper parts of the trusses to an abutment or pier of the bridge.
Por"tal, a. (Anat.)
Definition: Of or pertaining to a porta, especially the porta of the liver; as, the portal vein, which enters the liver at the porta, and divides into capillaries after the manner of an artery.
Note: Portal is applied to other veins which break up into capillaries; as, the renal portal veins in the frog.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
8 May 2025
(noun) the act of protecting something by surrounding it with material that reduces or prevents the transmission of sound or heat or electricity
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
