What is "porter"

Beer \Beer\, n. [OE. beor, ber, AS. be['o]r; akin to Fries. biar, Icel. bj?rr, OHG. bior, D. & G. bier, and possibly E. brew. [root]93, See Brew.]

1. A fermented liquor made from any malted grain, but commonly from barley malt, with hops or some other substance to impart a bitter flavor.

   Note: Beer has different names, as small beer, ale, porter, brown stout, lager beer, according to its strength, or other qualities. See Ale.

2. A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants, as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc.

   Small beer, weak beer; (fig.) insignificant matters. ``To suckle fools, and chronicle small beer.''
   --Shak.

"person who carries," late 14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), from Anglo-French portour, Old French porteor "porter, bearer; reporter" (12c.), from Late Latin portatorem (nominative portator) "carrier, one who carries," from past participle stem of Latin portare "to carry" (see port (n.1)).

"doorkeeper, janitor," mid-13c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Anglo-French portour, Old French portier "gatekeeper" (12c.), from Late Latin portarius "gatekeeper," from Latin porta "gate" (see port (n.2)).

type of dark beer, 1734, short for porter's ale (1721), from porter (n.1), because the beer was made for or preferred by porters and other laborers, being cheap and strong.

Etymology 1 n. 1 A person who carries luggage and related objects. 2 (context computing English) One who ports software (converts it to another platform). Etymology 2

n. 1 A person in control of the entrance to a building. 2 In the bowling industry, an employee who clears and cleans tables and puts bowling balls away. 3 A strong, dark ale, originally favored by porters, similar to a stout but less strong. 4 (context Ireland English) stout (malt brew). vb. to serve as a porter, to carry.

v. carry luggage or supplies; "They portered the food up Mount Kilimanjaro for the tourists"

1. n. a person employed to carry luggage and supplies

2. someone who guards an entrance [syn: doorkeeper, doorman, door guard, hall porter, gatekeeper, ostiary]

3. United States writer of novels and short stories (1890-1980) [syn: Katherine Anne Porter]

4. United States composer and lyricist of musical comedies (1891-1946) [syn: Cole Porter, Cole Albert Porter]

5. United States writer of short stories whose pen name was O. Henry (1862-1910) [syn: William Sydney Porter, O. Henry]

6. a railroad employee who assists passengers (especially on sleeping cars) [syn: Pullman porter]

7. a very dark sweet ale brewed from roasted unmalted barley [syn: porter's beer]

A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who carries objects or cargoes for others. The range of services conducted by porters is extensive, from shuttling luggage aboard a train (a railroad porter) to bearing heavy burdens at altitude in inclement weather on multi-month mountaineering expeditions.

The use of humans to transport cargo dates to the ancient world, prior to domesticating animals and development of the wheel. Historically it remained prevalent in areas where slavery was permitted, and exists today where modern forms of mechanical conveyance are rare or impractical, or where it is impractical or impossible for mechanized transport to be used, such as in mountainous terrain, or thick jungle or forest cover.

Over time slavery diminished and technology advanced, but the role of porter for specialized transporting services remains strong in the 21st century. Examples include bellhops at hotels, redcaps at railway stations, skycaps at airports, and native bearers on adventure trips engaged by foreign travelers.

Porters, frequently called Sherpas in the Himalayas (after the ethnic group most Himalayan porters come from), are also an essential part of mountaineering: they are typically highly skilled professionals who specialize in the logistics aspect of mountain climbing, not merely people paid to carry loads (although carrying is integral to the profession). Frequently, porters/Sherpas work for companies who hire them out to climbing groups, to serve both as porters and as mountain guides; the term "guide" is often used interchangeably with "Sherpa" or "porter", but there are certain differences. Porters are expected to prepare the route before and/or while the main expedition climbs, climbing up beforehand with tents, food, water, and equipment (enough for themselves and for the main expedition), which they place in carefully located deposits on the mountain. This preparation can take months of work before the main expedition starts. Doing this involves numerous trips up and down the mountain, until the last and smallest supply deposit is planted shortly below the peak. When the route is prepared, either entirely or in stages ahead of the expedition, the main body follows. The last stage is often done without the porters, they remaining at the last camp, a quarter mile or below the summit, meaning only the main expedition is given the credit for mounting the summit. In many cases, since the porters are going ahead, they are forced to freeclimb, driving spikes and laying safety lines for the main expedition to use as they follow. Porters (such as Sherpas for example), are frequently local ethnic types, well adapted to living in the rarified atmosphere and accustomed to life in the mountains. Although they receive little glory, porters or Sherpas are often considered among the most skilled of mountaineers, and are generally treated with respect, since the success of the entire expedition is only possible through their work. They are also often called upon to stage rescue expeditions when a part of the party is endangered or there is an injury; when a rescue attempt is successful, several porters are usually called upon to transport the injured climber(s) back down the mountain so the expedition can continue. A well known incident where porters attempted to rescue numerous stranded climbers, and often died as a result, is the 2008 K2 disaster. In 2014, 16 Sherpa guide/porters were killed in an ice avalanche on Mount Everest, inciting the entire Sherpa guide community to refuse to undertake any more ascents for the remainder of the year, making any further expeditions impossible.

The word porter derives from the Latin portare (to carry).

Porter may refer to:

Porter is a Mexican indie rock band based in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Despite their uncommon sound the band got decent radio airplay on important broadcasting stations, their videos: " Espiral", " Daphne" and " Host of a Ghost" had a good reception in music video channels. "Daphne" was placed in the Telehit's Top Ten videos and, more recently, "Host of a Ghost". (October 2007). The band has overall acceptance among critics & the audience, which often labels their sound as weird, interesting and vanguardish.

A porter is a railway employee employed to assist passengers aboard a passenger train or to handle their baggage. The term is also used to refer to employees who assist passengers in the sleeping cars.

Porter (\p(o)-rter\) is a common English surname and also a given name. The name originates as an Old French occupational name, portier (gatekeeper; doorkeeper), or porteour ("to carry"). Its earliest public record is 1086 at Winchester Castle. With transferred use, Porter also became a masculine given name with varied popularity. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Porter ranked #433 in 1907, declined to #1002 in 1944, then rebounded to #476 in 2006. People with the name include:

The majority of colleges at the universities of Cambridge, Durham and Oxford, as well as newer collegiate universities such as York and older universities like University of Bristol and St David's College, have members of staff called porters. There is normally a head porter and a team of other porters. Their precise job roles vary from college to college. Oxbridge porters are typically from an armed forces background, and are highly sought after jobs. Porters work in a section of the college called the Porters' lodge, at the main entrance.

Roles can involve:

• Controlling entry to the college
• Sorting mail
• Providing security to members
• Reporting students to the Dean
• Maintenance and repairs to college property

The character Skullion from Tom Sharpe's satirical 1974 novel Porterhouse Blue was a fictional head porter reputed to be based on Albert Jaggard, the Head Porter of Corpus Christi during the 1960s and 1970s.

Porter is an MBTA transfer station serving the rapid transit Red Line and the commuter rail Fitchburg Line, located at Porter Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Positioned at the intersection of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues, the station provides rapid transit access to northern Cambridge and the western portions of Somerville. Porter is 14 minutes from Park Street on the Red Line, and about 10 minutes from North Station on commuter rail trains. Several local MBTA Bus routes also stop at the station.

A series of commuter rail depots have been located at Porter Square under various names since the 1840s. The modern station with both subway and commuter rail levels was designed by Cambridge Seven Associates and opened on December 8, 1984. At below ground, the subway section is the deepest station on the MBTA system. The station originally had six artworks installed as part of the Arts on the Line program; five remain, including Gift of the Wind and Glove Cycle.

Porter is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon, and lies across the northwestern rim of the huge walled plain Clavius. Although generally circular, the form of this crater has been modified by the geometry of the surface on which it was formed. The outer rim is generally lower to the southwest, where it lies on the floor of Clavius. Likewise the interior floor is flatter near this face. In contrast the northeastern floor is rougher and more uneven in the northeastern half.

The crater is somewhat worn in appearance, in comparison with the younger and sharper-edged Rutherfurd to the south along the southeastern rim of Clavius. There is a double central peak located just to the southwest of the midpoint. A small craterlet lies along the northwestern inner wall of the crater, but the formation is not otherwise significantly marked by smaller impacts.

This crater was formerly designated Clavius B before being renamed by the IAU.

Porter is a large-scale impact crater in the Thaumasia quadrangle on the planet Mars, situated in Aonia Terra at 50.8° south and 113.9º west. The impact caused a bowl across. The name was chosen in 1973 by the International Astronomical Union in honour of the US astronomer and explorer, Russell W. Porter (1871-1949).

Impact craters generally have a rim with ejecta around them, in contrast volcanic craters usually do not have a rim or ejecta deposits. As craters get larger (greater than 10 km in diameter) they usually have a central peak. The peak is caused by a rebound of the crater floor following the impact.

Wikiporter.jpg|Porter Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Gullies are visible in the upper left. Wikiportergullies.jpg|Gullies in Porter Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the previous photo.

Martian gullies are small, incised networks of narrow channels and their associated downslope sediment deposits, found on the planet of Mars. They are named for their resemblance to terrestrial gullies. First discovered on images from Mars Global Surveyor, they occur on steep slopes, especially on the walls of craters. Usually, each gully has a dendritic alcove at its head, a fan-shaped apron at its base, and a single thread of incised channel linking the two, giving the whole gully an hourglass shape. They are believed to be relatively young because they have few, if any craters. A subclass of gullies is also found cut into the faces of sand dunes which themselves considered to be quite young. On the basis of their form, aspects, positions, and location amongst and apparent interaction with features thought to be rich in water ice; many researchers believed that the processes carving the gullies involve liquid water. However, this remains a topic of active research. As soon as gullies were discovered, researchers began to image many gullies over and over, looking for possible changes. By 2006, some changes were found. Later, with further analysis it was determined that the changes could have occurred by dry granular flows rather than being driven by flowing water. With continued observations many more changes were found in Gasa Crater and others. With more repeated observations, more and more changes have been found; since the changes occur in the winter and spring, experts are tending to believe that gullies were formed from dry ice. Before-and-after images demonstrated the timing of this activity coincided with seasonal carbon-dioxide frost and temperatures that would not have allowed for liquid water. When dry ice frost changes to a gas, it may lubricate dry material to flow especially on steep slopes. In some years frost, perhaps as thick as 1 meter.

In a monastery, the porter is the monk (or portress for a nun) appointed to be the one who interacts with the public. It is considered an important office, as the porter is the representative of the community to the outside world.

The Rule of St. Benedict, in Chapter 66, gives specific advice as to the qualifications of the person chosen to serve in this post. In keeping with this advice, the porter is usually given private quarters right at the entrance to the monastery, which can lie some distance from the cloister, thus the need for a very responsible person to fill this position.

Among Franciscan communities, a large portion of the lay brothers who have achieved sainthood had spent their lives in the office of porter of the community, Saints Paschal Baylon, O.F.M., and Felix of Cantalice, O.F.M. Cap., are examples. There is also the current American candidate for canonization, Fr. Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Cap., who was a Catholic priest, but, due to the limitations of his academic capabilities, served as a porter in both Detroit and New York City for over 30 years.

The Jesuits have their own holy porter in the person of Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, S.J., as do the Congregation of Holy Cross in Saint André Bessette (Frère André) of Montreal.

Porter is a dark style of beer developed in London from well- hopped beers made from brown malt. The name was first recorded in the 18th century, and is thought to come from its popularity with street and river porters.

The history and development of stout and porter are intertwined. The name "stout" as used for a dark beer is believed to have come about because strong porters were marketed under such names as "Extra Porter", "Double Porter", and "Stout Porter". The term "Stout Porter" would later be shortened to just "Stout". For example, Guinness Extra Stout was originally called Extra Superior Porter and was only given the name Extra Stout in 1840.