Where does “porter” come from?
porter (Middle English) comes from Old French portour, from Old French porter, from Old French -ment, from Latin -mentum, from Latin -menta, from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs.
porter (Middle English): gatekeeper, doorkeeper
Definitions
- gatekeeper, doorkeeper
Ancestry of “porter”, step by step
porter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French portour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | portour | carrier; bearer |
| 2 | Old French | porter | to carry; to carry a child |
| 3 | Old French | -ment | Used to form adverbs, most of the time equivalent... |
| 4 | Latin | -mentum | instrument, medium, or result of; e.g.... |
| 5 | Latin | -menta | nominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -mn̥ | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs |
via Anglo-Norman portour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | portour | carrier; bearer |