4. A prayer book or breviary; a portass. [Obs.] Portal bracing (Bridge Building), a combination of struts and ties which lie in the plane of the inclined braces at a portal, serving to transfer wind pressure from the upper parts of the trusses to an abutment or pier of the bridge.
PORTAL
Por"tal, a. (Anat.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to a porta, especially the porta of the liver; as, the portal vein, which enters the liver at the porta, and divides into capillaries after the manner of an artery.
Note: Portal is applied to other veins which break up into capillaries; as, the renal portal veins in the frog.
PORTAMENTO
Por`ta*men"to, n. Etym: [It., fr. portare to carry.] (Mus.)
Defn: In singing, or in the use of the bow, a gradual carrying or lifting of the voice or sound very smoothly from one note to another; a gliding from tone to tone.
PORTANCE
Por"tance, n.
Defn: See Port, carriage, demeanor. [Obs.] Spenser. Shak.
PORTASS Por"tass, n. Etym: [OF. porte-hors a kind of prayer book, so called from being portable; cf. LL. portiforium.]
Defn: A breviary; a prayer book. [Written variously portace,
portasse, portesse, portise, porthose, portos, portus, portuse, etc.]
[Obs.] Spenser. Camden.
By God and by this porthors I you swear. Chaucer.