portable

English Online Dictionary. What means portable‎? What does portable mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English portable, from Middle French portable and Latin portābilis. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/, /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbl̩/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɹtəbəl/, /ˈpɔɹtəbl̩/, [ˈpʰɔɹɾɪ̈bl̩]
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)təbəl
• Hyphenation: por‧ta‧ble

Adjective

portable (comparative more portable, superlative most portable)

1. Able to be carried or easily moved.
2. Able to be transferred from one organization to another.

3. (computing) Of software: able to be run on multiple hardware or operating systems.
4. (computing) Of a program: able to be copied directly from one machine to another without the use of an installer.
5. (obsolete) Bearable, endurable.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• hand-held
• transportable

Noun

portable (plural portables)

1. A portable building used for temporary purposes, particularly:
   1. Clipping of portable toilet.
   2. A trailer or other movable structure used for classes at a school.
2. (computing) Clipping of portable computer.
3. (video games) A hand-held video gaming device.

Synonyms

• (facility for urination and defecation): See Thesaurus:bathroom

Translations

References

Anagrams

• tropable

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin portābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [purˈtab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [porˈtab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [poɾˈta.ble]

Adjective

portable m or f (masculine and feminine plural portables)

1. portable

   Synonym: portàtil

Related terms

• portar

Further reading

• “portable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “portable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “portable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “portable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin portābilis. By surface analysis, porter +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔʁ.tabl/

Adjective

portable (plural portables)

1. portable

Derived terms

• téléphone portable
• ordinateur portable

Related terms

• portatif

Noun

portable m (plural portables)

1. a mobile phone; ellipsis of téléphone portable
2. a laptop; ellipsis of ordinateur portable

   Synonym: ordinateur portable m

Synonyms

• (mobile phone): mobile m, téléphone portable m, cellulaire m (Quebec), cell, téléphone mobile, téléphone cellulaire

Further reading

• “portable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin portabilis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

portable m (feminine singular portabla, masculine plural portables, feminine plural portablas)

1. portable

Related terms

• portar

Further reading

• Joan de Cantalausa (2006) Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians‎^[1], 2 edition, →ISBN, page 769.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin portābilis; equivalent to portar +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /poɾˈtable/ [poɾˈt̪a.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: por‧ta‧ble

Adjective

portable m or f (masculine and feminine plural portables)

1. portable

   Synonym: portátil

Derived terms

Further reading

• “portable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10