rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: portare
Latin

portare

carry

Forms

  • port-

Origin

Usually traced to reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *per-, ‘pass through; cross.’

Note

A prefix often tells where the carrying goes: inward, outward, or across.

8 / 28
Cargo boxes enter a warehouse from a foreign freighter.
noun / verb

import

im-PORT/ˌɪmpˈɔrt/

Something brought in from an outside country or system.

Etymology
imLatinin, into, on, upon
+portLatincarry

The pieces mean “carry into,” matching the Latin sense of bringing something in from abroad. Bringing goods into a country or data into a system shares that inward direction.

Full entry

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