Etymograph

English

porch

Porch comes from Latin porticus ‘portico’, from porta ‘gate, entrance’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to pass through/over’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to pass through/over’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portā1‘gate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEporta2‘gate, entrance’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEporticus3‘portico’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500porche3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1897porch3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin porta
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin porticus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English porch
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud,[…].…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Latin porta‘to pass through/over’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂Wiktionary, Latin portareconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāWiktionary, Latin porta‘gate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportaWiktionary, Latin porticus‘gate, entrance’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEporticusWiktionary, English porch‘portico’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500porcheWiktionary, English porch
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1897porchWiktionary, English porch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud,[…].…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to pass through/over’

first, before, far, per, further, price, private, press, practice, fear, pre, primary, prime, appreciate, opportunity, prize, pregnant, prior, practical, precious, praise, afford, interpretation, privilege, parade, ford, par, forth, ferry, pirate, fare, pardon, primitive, prix, interpreter, portable, pragmatic, privy, prism, proton, 140 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂

rapporteur, 19 more

through Proto-Italic *portā ‘gate’

support, report, transport, importance, sport, export, import, portal, porter, rapport, deport, porta, comport, 20 more

through Latin porta ‘gate, entrance’

port, 9 more

through Latin porticus ‘portico’

portico, 4 more

Today it means

noun A covered entrance to a building, whether taken from the interior, and forming a sort of vestibule within the main wall, or projecting without and with a separate roof. A porch often has chair(s), table(s) and swings.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “porch”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin porta, Latin porticus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *per- / porch

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