Word Study
porte
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun porte has 1 sense
- porte(n = noun.group) sublime porte - the Ottoman court in Constantinople; Array is a kind of court, royal court
CIDE DICTIONARY
porte, n. [F. porte a gate, L. porta. See Port a gate.].
The Ottoman court; the government of the Turkish empire, officially called the Sublime Porte , from the gate (port) of the sultan's palace at which justice was administered. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
porte, n. (in full the Sublime or Ottoman Porte) hist. the Ottoman court at Constantinople.
Etymology
F (la Sublime Porte = the exalted gate), transl. of Turk. title of the central office of the Ottoman government
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