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portico

POR-tih-koh · noun

LatinItalianEnglish

Origin

English portico comes from Italian portico, from Latin porticus, meaning "porch," which itself derives from porta, meaning "gate."

Journey

The word passed from Latin porticus into Italian portico before settling into English with its current sense of a covered entrance supported by columns.

Related words

It's a doublet of porch and porticus, both descending from the same Latin root, along with the rarer porticus and portego.

More words

From Italian

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