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Meaning of PORTAL

Pronunciation:  'powrtl

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: [n]  a grand and imposing entrance (often extended metaphorically); "the portals of the cathedral"; "the portals of heaven"; "the portals of success"
 
 Websites: 
 
 See Also: entrance, entranceway, entree, entry, entryway

 

 

Products Dictionary
 
 Definition: 

Portal
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Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \Por"tal\, n. [OF. portal, F. portail, LL. portale, fr.
    L. porta a gate. See {Port} a gate.]
    1. A door or gate; hence, a way of entrance or exit,
       especially one that is grand and imposing.
             Thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone.
                                                   --Milton.
             From out the fiery portal of the east. --Shak.
    2. (Arch.)
       (a) The lesser gate, where there are two of different
           dimensions.
       (b) Formerly, a small square corner in a room separated
           from the rest of the apartment by wainscoting, forming
           a short passage to another apartment.
       (c) By analogy with the French portail, used by recent
           writers for the whole architectural composition which
           surrounds and includes the doorways and porches of a
           church.
    3. (Bridge Building) The space, at one end, between opposite
       trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.
    4. A prayer book or breviary; a portass. [Obs.]
    {Portal bracing} (Bridge Building), a combination of struts
       and ties which lie in the plane of the inclined braces at
       a portal, serving to transfer wind pressure from the upper
       parts of the trusses to an abutment or pier of the bridge.
    
  2. \Por"tal\, a. (Anat.)
    Of or pertaining to a porta, especially the porta of the
    liver; as, the portal vein, which enters the liver at the
    porta, and divides into capillaries after the manner of an
    artery.
    Note: Portal is applied to other veins which break up into
          capillaries; as, the renal portal veins in the frog.
    
 
Computing Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. Process-Oriented Real-Time Algorithmic Language.

    ["PORTAL - A Pascal-based Real-Time Programming Language", R. Schild in Algorithmic Languages, J.W. deBakker et al eds, N-H 1981].

  2. A web site that aims to be an entry point to the World-Wide Web, typically offering a search engine and/or links to useful pages, and possibly news or other services. These services are usually provided for free in the hope that users will make the site their default home page or at least visit it often. Popular examples are Yahoo and MSN. Most portals on the Internet exist to generate advertising income for their owners, others may be focused on a specific group of users and may be part of an intranet or extranet. Some may just concentrate on one particular subject, say technology or medicine, and are known as a vertical portals.

 
Medical Dictionary
 
 Definition: Surgical access point for an endoscopic instrument such as an arthroscope.
 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: archway, back door, barway, bulkhead, carriage entrance, cellar door, cellarway, door, doorjamb, doorpost, doorway, entrance, entrance hall, entranceway, entry, entryway, foyer, French door, front door, galilee, gate, gatepost, gateway, hatch, hatchway, lintel, lobby, narthex, porch, porte cochere, portico, postern, propylaeum, pylon, scuttle, side door, stile, stoa, storm door, threshold, tollgate, trap, trap door, turnpike, turnstile, vestibule
 

 

 

 

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