LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

portus1

portus m (genitive portūs)
Classical[ˈpɔr.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɔr.tus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculineharbor, port
    venīmus in portumWe are approaching the port8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 2.863
  2. masculinehaven, refuge, asylum, retreat
  3. masculinewarehouse

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

locus tūtus ubi nāvēs stant, ā ventīs dēfēnsus.
portus -ūs m — in Mille Verba, Mare et Nāvēs
locus tūtus nāvibus
portus -ūs (m) — in Aeneis, ch. 2

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeportusportūs
genitiveportūsportuum
dativeportuīportibus
portubus
accusativeportumportūs
ablativeportūportibus
portubus
vocativeportusportūs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

naves ex portu solvunt
the ships sail from the harbour.
in portum philosophiae confugere
to take refuge in philosophy.
portu, terra prohiberi (B. C. 3. 15)
to be unable to land.
litora ac portus custodia clausos tenere
to keep the coast and harbours in a state of blockade.
ventum (tempestatem) nancti idoneum ex portu exeunt
the ships sail out on a fair wind.

portus, ūs (
I. gen. sing. porti, Turp. ap. Non. 491, 20: dat. plur. portibus, Liv. 27, 30, 7 et saep.; a better form than portubus), m. por, whence porto, portitor.—Prop., an entrance; hence,
I. A harbor, haven, port: Lunai portus, Enn. ap. Pers. 6, 9 (Ann. v. 16 Vahl.): portus Caietae, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 12, 33; id. Rep. 3, 31, 43; cf.: in Graeciae portus, id. ib. 1, 3, 5: e portu solvere, to sail out of port, id. Mur. 2, 4; so, e portu proficisci, Caes. B. G. 3, 14: ex portu exire, id. B. C. 2, 4: ex portu naves educere, id. ib. 1, 57; 2, 22: portum linquere, Verg. A. 3, 289: petere, to sail into, to enter, Cic. Planc. 39, 94; Verg. A. 1, 194: capere, Caes. B. G. 4, 36: occupare, Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 32: in portum venire, to enter the port, Cic. Sen. 19, 71; so, in portum ex alto invehi, id. Mur. 2, 4: in portum deferri, Auct. Her. 1, 11, 19: in portum pervenire, Caes. B. G. 4, 22: in portum se recipere, id. B. C. 2, 22: in portum navim cogere (al. conicere), Cic. Inv. 2, 32, 98: in portum penetrare, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 37, § 96: portum tenere, to reach a port, id. Fam. 1, 9, 21: in portum voluntatis deduci, Vulg. Psa. 106, 30: in portu operam dare, to be an officer of the customs, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 70, § 171; 2, 2, 72, § 176.—With reference to the import-duty to be paid in ports: ex portu vectigal conservare, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 6, 15; Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 70, § 171. —Prov.: in portu navigare, i. e. to be in safety, out of all danger, Ter. And. 3, 1, 22; so, in portu esse, Cic. Fam. 9, 6, 4.—
2. Poet., transf., the mouth of a river, where it empties into the sea, Ov. H. 14, 107; id. Am. 2, 13, 10.—
B. Trop., as also the Greek λιμήν, and our haven, a place of refuge, an asylum, retreat (class.; a favorite trope of Cicero): portus corporis, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 44, 107 (Trag. v. 415 Vahl.): tamquam portum aliquem exspecto illam solitudinem, Cic. de Or. 1, 60, 255; so with tamquam, id. Brut. 2, 8: se in philosophiae portum conferre, id. Fam. 7, 30, 2: regum, populorum, nationum portus erat et refugium senatus, id. Off. 2, 8, 26: exsilium non supplicium est, sed perfugium portusque supplicii, id. Caecin. 34, 100; id. Tusc. 1, 49, 118: hic portus, haec arx, haec ara sociorum, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 48, § 126; so, nam mihi parta quies, omnisque in limine portus, i. e. security is at hand, Verg. A. 7, 598: venias portus et ara tuis, Ov. H. 1, 110: vos eritis nostrae portus et ara fugae, id. P. 2, 8, 68. —
II. In the oldest Latinity, a house (as a place which one enters): portum in XII. pro domo positum omnes fere consentiunt, Fest. p. 233 Müll.—*
III. A warehouse: portus appellatus est conclusus locus, quo importantur merces et inde exportantur, Dig. 50, 16, 59: Licini, Cassiod. Var. 1, 25.

Origins

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

Insular Romance
  • Sardinianpoltu
  • Sardinianportu
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanportfrom Old Catalan port
  • Occitanpòrtfrom Old Occitan port
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseportofrom Old Galician-Portuguese porto
  • Spanishpuertofrom Old Spanish puerto
  • Asturianpuertu
  • Asturianpuerto
  • Asturianpuirtu
  • Asturianpuorto
  • Asturianpuörtu
  • Asturianporto
  • Asturianportu
  • Galicianportofrom Old Galician-Portuguese porto
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianporto
  • Galluresepoltufrom Corsican portu
  • Slavomolisanolupuortfrom Italian porto
  • Neapolitanpuorto
  • Malteseportfrom Sicilian portu
  • Venetanporto
Elsewhere
  • Romanianport
  • Albanianport
  • Faroeseportur
  • Idoportuo
  • Old Frenchport
  • Old Irishport
  • Kashubianpòrtfrom Old Polish port
  • Proto-Brythonic*porθ
  • Proto-West Germanic*port
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianpuart
  • Ladinport
  • Romanshport
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianpôrt
  • Romagnolpôrt
  • Romagnolpört
proper noun · masculinefourth declension
Portus2
Portus m sg (genitive Portūs)
Classical[ˈpɔr.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɔr.tus]

Meaning

  1. masculinesingularPortus (large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativePortus—
genitivePortūs—
dativePortuī—
accusativePortum—
ablativePortū—
vocativePortus—
locativePortū—

Origins

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

Descendants
  • EnglishPortus
  • ItalianPorto

Quick answers

What does portus mean in Latin?
portus, a noun, means “harbor, port; haven, refuge, asylum, retreat; warehouse”.
What is the genitive of portus?
The genitive singular is portūs. portus is masculine, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce portus?
In classical Latin, [ˈpɔr.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpɔr.tus].