English
portico
Portico comes from Italian portico ‘portico, arcade, porch’, from Latin porta ‘gate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to pass through/over’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to pass through/over’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portā1‘gate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEporta2‘gate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEporticus2‘porch’
- Italianc. 1300–presentportico2‘portico, arcade, porch’
- Englishearliest quotation 1732portico2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin porta
- 2 Wiktionary, English portico
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, Awnsham Churchill; John Churchill, A Collection of Voyages and Travels: “The amphitheatre hath two portici as that at Niſmes.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Latin porta‘to pass through/over’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂Wiktionary, Latin portareconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāWiktionary, Latin porta‘gate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportaWiktionary, English portico‘gate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEporticusWiktionary, English portico‘porch’
- Italianc. 1300–presentporticoWiktionary, English portico‘portico, arcade, porch’
- Englishearliest quotation 1732porticoWiktionary, English portico. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, Awnsham Churchill; John Churchill, A Collection of Voyages and Travels: “The amphitheatre hath two portici as that at Niſmes.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to pass through/over’
first, before, far, per, private, press, further, price, fear, pre, primary, prime, appreciate, practice, prior, prize, pregnant, opportunity, afford, precious, praise, ford, privilege, parade, par, practical, interpretation, ferry, pirate, fare, forth, pardon, prix, primitive, interpreter, privy, prism, proton, portable, peril, 141 more
through Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂
through Proto-Italic *portā ‘gate’
support, report, transport, importance, sport, export, import, rapport, deport, comport, 21 more
through Latin porta ‘gate’
through Latin porticus ‘porch’
Today it means
noun A porch, or a small space with a roof supported by columns, serving as the entrance to a building.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “portico”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin porta. 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- / portico