Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pore” come from?

Pore comes from Middle English pore, from Old French pore, from Latin porus, from Ancient Greek πόρος meaning a passage or pore.

pore (English): A tiny opening in the skin; By extension any...

Definitions

  1. A tiny opening in the skin; By extension any...

Ancestry of “pore”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpore—
2Old Frenchporepore
3Latinporuspore, passage in the body; tufa
4Ancient Greekπόροςa means of passage, passageway, way, opening;...
5Ancient GreekπείρωI pierce, run through; I cleave through
6Proto-Hellenic*péryō—

Words derived from “pore”

  • poring
  • pored
  • electroporation
  • aquaporin
  • porewater
  • blastopore
  • nanopore
  • poration
  • micropore
  • porin
  • neuropore
  • macropore
  • mesopore
  • nucleoporin
  • interpore
  • poroid
  • pory
  • poreless
  • millipore
  • polypore
  • porelike
  • porer
  • nephridiopore
  • poriferous
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *péryō →