LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

porta

porta f (genitive portae)
Classical[ˈpɔr.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɔr.ta]
№ 759 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininegate, especially of a city
  2. feminineentrance, passage, door
  3. femininefigurativelyway, means

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

porta posterior castrōrum
rear gate of the camp
porta decumāna — in De Bello Gallico II, ch. 12

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeportaportae
genitiveportaeportārum
dativeportaeportīs
accusativeportamportās
ablativeportāportīs
vocativeportaportae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

portas refringere
to break down the gates.
extra portam egredi
to go outside the gate.
portā ingredi, exire
to go in at, go out of a gate.
valvas (portam) obstruere
to barricade a door (a city-gate).
stationes agere pro portis
to be on duty before the gates.
claustra portarum revellere
to break down the gates.
portas obstruere (B. G. 5. 50)
to barricade the gates.

porta, ae (portabus for portis, Cn. Gell. ap. Charis. p. 40 P.), f. from root par-, to pierce, pass through; Gr. περάω, πείρω, πόρος, ford; Lat.: peritus, ex-perior, and v. periculum,
I. a city-gate, a gate.
I. Lit.: hic (miles) portas frangit, at ille (amans) fores, Ov. Am. 1, 9, 20: rectā portā invadam extemplo in oppidum antiquom et vetus, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 4, 60; id. Ps. 2, 2, 3: si Hannibal ad portas venisset, Cic. Fin. 4, 9, 22: pedem portā efferre, id. Att. 8, 2, 4; 7, 2, 6; Verg. A. 4, 130: ad portam praesto esse, Cic. Pis. 23, 55: portā introire, id. ib. 23, 55: egressus portā Capenā, id. Tusc. 1, 7, 13: extra portam Collinam, id. Leg. 2, 23, 58: porta Carmentalis, Liv. 2, 49, 8: pars egressa portis erat, id. 3, 60, 9; 23, 46, 10: omnibus portis effundi, id. 24, 1, 3: portā Capenā Romam ingressus, id. 26, 10, 1; 33, 26, 9: signa portis efferre, id. 27, 2, 5: portis ruere, id. 27, 41, 8: eādem portā signa infesta urbi inferre, id. 28, 3, 13: patefactā portā Romani erumpunt, id. 28, 36, 8: subito omnibus portis eruptione factā, Caes. B. G. 3, 6; 19; 5, 51: omnibus portis prorumpunt, Tac. H. 4, 20; 34: portarum claustra, Verg. A. 7, 185: limina portarum, id. ib. 2, 803: portas obice firmā claudere, Ov. M. 14, 780: portas reserare hosti, id. A. A. 3, 577: portā triumphali ducere funus, Tac. A. 3, 47: sanctae quoque res, veluti muri et portae, quodammodo divini juris sunt, Gai. Inst. 2, 8: vidi Portas (Carthaginis) non clausas, a proof that the people were fearless, Hor. C. 3, 5, 23.—Connected with urbis: qui urbis portas occuparent, Cic. Phil. 14, 6, 15: bellum a portis hujus urbis avolsum, id. Rep. 1, 1, 1.—With per (rare except in Livy): per unam portam praesidium Romanum irrumpit, Liv. 9, 24, 12: paulo ante lucem per effractam portam urbem ingreditur, id. 24, 46, 7: per aversam portam silentio excedere, id. 10, 34, 4; 4, 46, 6; 23, 47, 8: elapsus per eam portam quae ... ad Darii castra pervenit, Curt. 4, 10, 25; Vulg. Gen. 34, 20: in fastigio portae, id. 2 Reg. 18, 24.—Prov.: porta itineri longissima, the way to the gate is the longest (sc. in making a journey), i. e. it is the first step that costs, Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 2.—
B. Transf., in gen., like our gate, of an avenue, entrance, passage, outlet, door of any kind (syn.: fores, janua, ostium). —Of the gates of a camp: ab decumanā portā castra munita, Caes. B. G. 3, 25; so, principalis, Liv. 40, 27: quaestoria, id. ib.: villarum, Plin. 28, 10, 44, § 157: venti, velut agmine facto, Quā data porta, ruunt, Verg. A. 1, 82.—Of a cage: ex portā ludis emitti, said of hares, Plaut. Pers. 3, 3, 30: porta tonat caeli, Enn. ap. Vet. Gram. ap. Col. (Ann. v. 597 Vahl.); Verg. G. 3, 261: somni, id. A. 6, 893; cf. eburna, Hor. C. 3, 27, 41: ubi portitor aera recepit, Obserat umbrosos lurida porta rogos, the portal of the infernal regions, Prop. 4 (5), 11, 8. belli portae, Enn. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 7, 622; Hor. S. 1, 4, 61 (Ann. v. 271 Vahl.): mortis, Vulg. Psa. 9, 15: inferi, id. Isa. 38, 10: portae, quae alibi Armeniae, alibi Caspiae, alibi Ciliciae vocantur, passes, gorges, defiles, Plin. 5, 27, 27, § 99; Nep. Dat. 7, 3; Val. Fl. 3, 496: solis, the signs of Cancer and Aries in the zodiac, Macr. Somn. Scip. 1, 12, and S. 1, 17: jecoris, a part of the liver (so too in Gr. πύλη), Cic. N. D. 2, 55, 137: fluviorum, Vulg. Nahum, 2, 6.—Of the fundament, Cat. 15, 17.—*
II. Trop.
A. Et quibus e portis occurri cuique deceret, by what way, by what means, Lucr. 6, 32.—
B. As the symbol of strength: portae inferi, the powers of hell, Vulg. Matt. 16, 18.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pr̥téh₂
  3. Proto-Italic*portā
  4. Latinporta

From Proto-Italic *portā, from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂, the feminine form of a perfect passive participle from *per- (“to pass through/over”). Doublet of portus and cognate with Ancient Greek πόρος (póros, “means of passage”).

Insular Romance
  • Sardinianpolta
  • Sardinianporta
  • Sardinianpota
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanporta
  • Occitanpòrta
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseportafrom Old Galician-Portuguese porta
  • Spanishpuertafrom Old Spanish puerta
  • Asturianpuerta
  • Asturianporta
  • Leonesepuerta
  • Mirandesepuorta
  • Galicianportafrom Old Galician-Portuguese porta
  • Ladinopuertafrom Old Spanish puerta
  • Ladinoפואירטהfrom Old Spanish puerta
  • Ladinopuartafrom Old Spanish puerta
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianpoartă
  • Aromanianpoartã
  • Istro-Romanianpoartĕ
  • Megleno-Romanianpoartă
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianporta
  • Corsicanporta
  • Dalmatianpuarta
  • Istriotpuorta
  • Judeo-Italianפוֹרְטַה
  • Neapolitanporta
  • Neapolitanpuorta
  • Sicilianporta
  • Venetanporta
Elsewhere
  • Englishporta
  • Albanianportë
  • Basqueborta
  • Greekπόρταfrom Byzantine Greek πόρτα
  • Lazპოტრაfrom Byzantine Greek πόρτα
  • Lazფოტრაfrom Byzantine Greek πόρτα
  • Bulgarianпортаfrom Byzantine Greek πόρτα
  • Old Church Slavonicпорътаfrom Byzantine Greek πόρτα
  • Esperantopordo
  • Idopordo
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianpuarte
  • Romanshporta
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Old Frenchporte
Serbo-Croatian
  • Cyrillic scriptпо̑рта
  • Latin scriptpȏrta

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesPortaPorta (πύλη), the gate of a city, citadel, or other open space enclosed by a wall, in contradistinction to JANUA which was the door of a house or any …

Quick answers

What does porta mean in Latin?
porta, a noun, means “gate, especially of a city; entrance, passage, door; way, means”.
What is the genitive of porta?
The genitive singular is portae. porta is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce porta?
In classical Latin, [ˈpɔr.ta]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpɔr.ta].
Where does porta come from?
Proto-Indo-European *per- → Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂ → Proto-Italic *portā → Latin porta.