Por"tage (?), v. t. & i. To carry (goods, boats, etc.) overland between
navigable waters.
Por"tage group` (?). [So called from the township of Portage in New
York.] (Geol.) A subdivision of the Chemung period in American geology.
See Chart of Geology.
Por"ta*gue (?), n. [See Portuguese.] A Portuguese gold coin formerly
current, and variously estimated to be worth from three and one half to
four and one half pounds sterling. [Obs.] [Written also portegue and
portigue.]
Ten thousand portagues, besides great pearls.
Marlowe.
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.