Etymograph

English

portolan

Portolan comes from Medieval Latin portus ‘harbour/harbor, port’, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus ‘crossing’, and ultimately from *per- ‘to fare’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to fare’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pértus2‘crossing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portus2‘harbour’reconstructed
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500portus3‘harbour/harbor, port’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500portulānus3
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentportolano4
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentportulan4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2012portolan4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pértus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin portus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Italian portolano
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English portolan
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Simon Garfield, On the Map: “Portolans are as old as the European mariner's magnetic…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pértus‘to fare’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pértusWiktionary, Latin portus‘crossing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portusWiktionary, Latin portus‘harbour’reconstructed
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500portusWiktionary, Italian portolano‘harbour/harbor, port’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500portulānusWiktionary, Italian portolano
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentportolanoWiktionary, English portolan
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentportulanWiktionary, English portolan
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2012portolanWiktionary, English portolan. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Simon Garfield, On the Map: “Portolans are as old as the European mariner's magnetic…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to fare’

first, before, far, per, price, private, press, further, practice, support, fear, pre, primary, prime, appreciate, report, prior, prize, practical, pregnant, afford, precious, praise, interpretation, privilege, parade, par, sport, ferry, forth, pirate, importance, fare, pardon, primitive, prix, export, interpreter, import, pragmatic, 148 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pértus ‘crossing’

ford, firth, fjord, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *portus ‘harbour’

inopportune, 6 more

through Medieval Latin portus ‘harbour/harbor, port’

opportunity, opportunist, opportune, opportunism, 7 more

Today it means

noun A chart of European navigable waters based on descriptions of coasts.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “portolan”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *pértus, Latin portus, Italian portolano. 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- / portolan

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