Etymograph

English

portal

Portal comes from Old French portal ‘gate’, from porte ‘door’, 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, especially of a city’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porte3‘door’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400portal4‘gate’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500portal4‘a portal’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1667portal4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin porta
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French porte
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French portal
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English portal
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book III: “Thick with sparkling orient gems / The portal shone.”.

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, Old French porte‘gate, especially of a city’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porteWiktionary, Old French portal‘door’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400portalWiktionary, English portal‘gate’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500portalWiktionary, English portal‘a portal’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1667portalWiktionary, English portal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book III: “Thick with sparkling orient gems / The portal shone.”

Linked words

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

first, before, far, per, price, private, press, further, practice, fear, pre, primary, prime, appreciate, prize, prior, pregnant, opportunity, afford, precious, praise, practical, ford, privilege, parade, par, interpretation, ferry, pirate, fare, forth, pardon, primitive, prix, interpreter, pragmatic, privy, prism, proton, peril, 142 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂

rapporteur, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *portā ‘gate’

support, report, transport, sport, importance, export, import, rapport, deport, comport, 22 more

through Latin porta ‘gate, especially of a city’

porch, porter, portico, 8 more

Today it means

noun An entrance, entry point, or means of entry.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “portal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin porta, Old French porte, Old French portal. 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- / portal

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