Advertisement
portage (n.)
early 15c., "action of carrying, transportation," said to be from Old French portage and directly from Medieval Latin portaticum, though the meaning of these was "tax paid on entering a town," from Latin portare "to carry" (from PIE root *per- (2) "to lead, pass over"). The sense of "a break in a chain of water-communication over which goods, boats, etc. must be carried," also "the carrying of boats from one navigable water to another" is from 1690s, reinforced in U.S. and Canada by Canadian French.
updated on September 05, 2020
Advertisement
Advertisement
Definitions of portage from WordNet
Dictionary entries near portage
porridge
porringer
port
Port Royal
portable
portage
portal
portcullis
Porte
porte-cochere
portend
