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Port vs Channel - What's the difference?

port | channel |

In nautical terms the difference between port and channel

is that port is of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel while channel is the wale of a sailing ship which projects beyond the gunwale and to which the shrouds attach via the chains.

As an adjective port

is of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel.

port

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) port, from (etyl) (and thus distantly cognate with ford).

Noun

(en noun)
  • A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
  • * Shakespeare
    • peering in maps for ports and piers and roads
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port' does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the ' port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}
  • A town or city containing such a place.
  • (nautical, uncountable) The left-hand side of a vessel, including aircraft, when one is facing the front. Port does not change based on the orientation of the person aboard the craft.
    • Synonyms
    * (place where ships dock) harbour, haven * (town or city containing such a place) harbour city, harbour town, port city * (left-hand side of a vessel) larboard, left
    Antonyms
    * (right-hand side of a vessel) starboard
    Derived terms
    * airport, seaport, spaceport * port authority, port of call, first port of call * Newport * outport

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (nautical) Of or relating to port, the left-hand side of a vessel.
    • on the port side
    Synonyms
    * larboard, left
    Antonyms
    * starboard

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (nautical, transitive, chiefly, imperative) To turn or put to the left or larboard side of a ship; said of the helm.
    • Port your helm!

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) , reinforced in (etyl), from (etyl) porte.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An entryway or gate.
  • * 1485 , (Thomas Malory), Le Morte Darthur , Book X:
    • And whan he cam to the porte of the pavelon, Sir Palomydes seyde an hyghe, ‘Where art thou, Sir Trystram de Lyones?’
  • * 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.1:
    • Long were it to describe the goodly frame, / And stately port of Castle Joyeous [...].
    Him I accuse/The city ports by this hath enter'd'' —
    And from their ivory port the Cherubim,/Forth issuing at the accustomed hour,'' —
  • An opening or doorway in the side of a ship, especially for boarding or loading; an embrasure through which a cannon may be discharged; a porthole.
    • ...her ports being within sixteen inches of the water... —
  • (curling, bowls) A space between two stones wide enough for a delivered stone or bowl to pass through.
  • An opening where a connection (such as a pipe) is made.
  • (computing) A logical or physical construct in and from which data are transferred.
  • (computing) A female connector of an electronic device, into which a cable's male connector can be inserted.
    • Derived terms
    * porthole * chase port * sally port * (computing) port forwarding, accelerated graphics port, serial port, USB port

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) porter, from (etyl) . Akin to transport, portable.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To carry, bear, or transport. See porter.
    • They are easily ported by boat into other shires.'' — , ''The History of the Worthies of England
  • (military) To hold or carry (a weapon) with both hands so that it lays diagonally across the front of the body, with the barrel or similar part near the left shoulder and the right hand grasping the small of the stock; or, to throw (the weapon) into this position on command.
    • Port arms!
    ...the angelic squadron...began to hem him round with ported spears.'' —
  • (computing, video games) To adapt, modify, or create a new version of, a program so that it works on a different platform.
  • (telephony) To carry or transfer an existing telephone number from one telephone service provider to another.
    • Derived terms
    * porter * portage * port-o-john, port-o-potty * portly

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something used to carry a thing, especially a frame for wicks in candle-making.
  • (archaic) The manner in which a person carries himself; bearing; deportment; carriage. See also portance.
  • * late 14th c. , :
    • And of his port as meeke as is a mayde.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.iii:
    • Those same with stately grace, and princely port / She taught to tread, when she her selfe would grace
  • * South
    • the necessities of pomp, grandeur, and a suitable port in the world
  • (military) The position of a weapon when ported; a rifle position executed by throwing the weapon diagonally across the front of the body, with the right hand grasping the small of the stock and the barrel sloping upward and crossing the point of the left shoulder.
  • (computing) A program that has been adapted, modified, or recoded so that it works on a different platform from the one for which it was created; the act of this adapting.
    • Gamers can't wait until a port of the title is released on the new system.
    The latest port of the database software is the worst since we made the changeover.
  • (computing, BSD) A set of files used to build and install a binary executable file from the source code of an application.
    • Derived terms
    * (military) at the high port

    Etymology 4

    Named from (etyl) Oporto, a city in Portugal from whence the wines were originally shipped.

    Noun

    (en noun) (Port wine)
  • A type of very sweet fortified wine, mostly dark red, traditionally made in Portugal.
    • Synonyms
    * (fortified wine) porto, port wine

    Etymology 5

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Australia, Queensland, northern New South Wales, colloquial) A schoolbag or suitcase.
  • * 2001 , Sally de Dear, The House on Pig Island , page 8,
    • As they left the classroom, Jennifer pointed at the shelves lining the veranda. “Put your port in there.”
    “What?” asked Penny.
    “Your port - your school bag, silly. It goes in there.”
    ----

    channel

    English

    (wikipedia channel)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) chenel (French: '', ''chenal ), from (etyl)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks.
    • ''The water coming out of the waterwheel created a standing wave in the channel .
  • The natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar, bay, or any shallow body of water.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-01
    • , author=Nancy Langston , title=The Fraught History of a Watery World , volume=101, issue=1, page=59 , magazine= citation , passage=European adventurers found themselves within a watery world, a tapestry of streams, channels , wetlands, lakes and lush riparian meadows enriched by floodwaters from the Mississippi River.}}
    A channel was dredged to allow ocean-going vessels to reach the city.
  • The navigable part of a river.
    • We were careful to keep our boat in the channel .
  • A narrow body of water between two land masses.
    • The English Channel lies between France and England.
  • That through which anything passes; means of conveying or transmitting.
    • The news was conveyed to us by different channels .
  • * Dalton
    • The veins are converging channels .
  • * Burke
    • At best, he is but a channel to convey to the National Assembly such matter as may import that body to know.
  • A gutter; a groove, as in a fluted column.
  • (nautical, in the plural) Flat ledges of heavy plank bolted edgewise to the outside of a vessel, to increase the spread of the shrouds and carry them clear of the bulwarks.
  • (electronics) A connection between initiating]] and [[terminate, terminating nodes of a circuit.
    • The guard-rail provided the channel between the downed wire and the tree.
  • (electronics) The narrow conducting portion of a MOSFET transistor.
  • (communication) The part that connects a data source to a data sink.
    • A channel stretches between them.
  • (communication) A path for conveying electrical or electromagnetic signals, usually distinguished from other parallel paths.
    • We are using one of the 24 channels .
  • (communication) A single path provided by a transmission medium via physical separation, such as by multipair cable.
    • The channel is created by bonding the signals from these four pairs.
  • (communication) A single path provided by a transmission medium via spectral or protocol separation, such as by frequency or time-division multiplexing.
    • Their call is being carried on channel 6 of the T-1 line.
  • (broadcasting) A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies, usually in conjunction with a predetermined letter, number, or codeword, and allocated by international agreement.
    • KNDD is the channel at 107.7 MHz in Seattle.
  • (broadcasting) A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies used for transmitting television.
    • NBC is on channel 11 in San Jose.
  • * 2008 , Lou Schuler, "Foreward", in'' Nate Green, ''Built for Show , page xi
    • TV back then was five channels (three networks, PBS, and an independent station that ran I Love Lucy reruns),
  • (storage) The portion of a storage medium, such as a track or a band, that is accessible to a given reading or writing station or head.
    • This chip in this disk drive is the channel device.
  • (technic) The way in a turbine pump where the pressure is built up.
    • The liquid is pressurized in the lateral channel .
  • (business, marketing) A distribution channel
  • (Internet) A particular area for conversations on an IRC network, analogous to a chatroom and often dedicated to a specific topic.
  • (Internet) An obsolete means of delivering up-to-date Internet content.
  • * 1999 , Jeffrey S Rule, Dynamic HTML: The HTML Developer's Guide
    • Netcaster is the "receiver" for channels that are built into Netscape 4.01 and later releases.
  • * 1999 , Margaret Levine Young, Internet: The Complete Reference
    • To access channels in Windows 98, you don't have to go any farther than your desktop.
  • A psychic or medium who temporarily takes on the personality of somebody else.
    • Synonyms
    * (narrow body of water between two land masses) passage, sound, strait * (for television) side , station (US)
    Derived terms
    * channel-hopping * change the channel * ion channel * television channel
    Related terms
    * canal

    Verb

  • To direct the flow of something.
    • We will channel the traffic to the left with these cones.
  • To assume the personality of another person, typically a historic figure, in a theatrical or paranormal presentation.
    • When it is my turn to sing karaoke, I am going to channel Ray Charles.
    Derived terms
    * backchannel

    Etymology 2

    From chainwale

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (nautical) The wale of a sailing ship which projects beyond the gunwale and to which the shrouds attach via the chains.