from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Port \Port\, n. [AS. port, L. portus: cf. F. port. See {Farm},
v., {Ford}, and 1st, 3d, & 4h {Port}.]
1. A place where ships may ride secure from storms; a
sheltered inlet, bay, or cove; a harbor; a haven. Used
also figuratively.
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Peering in maps for ports and piers and roads.
--Shak.
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We are in port if we have Thee. --Keble.
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2. In law and commercial usage, a harbor where vessels are
admitted to discharge and receive cargoes, from whence
they depart and where they finish their voyages.
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{Free port}. See under {Free}.
{Port bar}. (Naut,)
(a) A boom. See {Boom}, 4, also {Bar}, 3.
(b) A bar, as of sand, at the mouth of, or in, a port.
{Port charges} (Com.), charges, as wharfage, etc., to which a
ship or its cargo is subjected in a harbor.
{Port of entry}, a harbor where a customhouse is established
for the legal entry of merchandise.
{Port toll} (Law), a payment made for the privilege of
bringing goods into port.
{Port warden}, the officer in charge of a port; a harbor
master.
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