See Also: portal(dictionary)
portal(2)(dictionary)
Portal(medicine)
portal(1)(dictionary)
Portal to Portal(money)
portal(dictionary)
portal pressure(medicine)
portal pyaemia(medicine)
portal system(medicine)
portal triad(medicine)

portal(2) (iou)



portal noun1. LME.
[Old French from medieval Latin portale use as noun of neut. of portalis (in medieval Latin = janitor), from Latin porta gate: see PORT noun3, -AL1.]
A door or gateway, esp. of stately or elaborate construction; an entrance, with surrounding parts, esp. of a large or magnificent building. Also, a natural entrance, as of a cave. LME.
Milton Through Heav'n, That open'd wide her blazing Portals. K. Clark When we pass through the portal into the interior. fig.: J. London Every portal to success in literature is guarded by those watch-dogs.
b. A valve of the heart. Only in M17.
c. Engineering. A rigid structural frame consisting essentially of two uprights connected at the top by a third member; orig., such a frame forming the end of a truss bridge. L19.
d. (The structural frame forming) the entrance to a tunnel. L19.
e. Medicine. The place where a micro-organism, drug, etc., enters or leaves the system (chiefly in portal of entry). Also, the area of the body where a beam of radiation enters or leaves it. Also called port, port of entry, port of exit. E20.
A partitioned space within the doorway of a room, containing an inner door. Also, such a partition (sometimes a movable piece of furniture). E16-E18.
A lesser gate; a small gate. E18.
Computing. A website providing a directory of links to other sites and often a search engine and other facilities, used as a starting-point for access to the Internet. Also portal site. L20.
Comb.: portal bracing (a) = sense 1c above; (b) the technique of using a portal frame; portal crane a crane mounted on a portal frame so that vehicles can pass below; portal frame = see sense 1c above; portal strut a horizontal member joining the tops of two uprights, esp. in a portal frame.
portalled adjective (rare) having a portal or portals M17.