portable
[pawr-tuh-buh l, pohr-]
- capable of being transported or conveyed: a portable stage.
- easily carried or conveyed by hand: a portable typewriter.
- Computers. (of data sets, software, etc.) capable of being used on different computer systems.
- Obsolete. endurable.
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- something that is portable, especially as distinguished from a nonportable counterpart: Of their three television sets, one is a portable.
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Origin of portable
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for portable
Contemporary Examples
Portable snacks are good to have on hand, too, says Jessica Crandall, RDN, Denver Wellness & Nutrition Director.
“We are Moroccans,” went out the cry over a portable loudspeaker.
There are edit suites mounted on shopping carts, and portable generators to power them.
This will aggregate a portable audience that you can later introduce to your crowdfunding launch.
For myself, the NeuroSky is a convenient, portable EEG device that provides most of the rudimentary meditation help I need.
Historical Examples
The clumsy framework of the receiver was reduced to a neat and portable size.
Heroes of the TelegraphJ. Munro
I tore off the cover, and disclosed an elegant and portable edition of ‘Marmion.’
The Tenant of Wildfell HallAnne Bronte
But we have been led a long way from Kaiser Max and his portable monument.
Albert DurerT. Sturge Moore
I'd have to wear the portable G-ray all the time, and that's not so comfortable.
Few invalids are too feeble to whisper at the light, portable ear of metal.
portable
- able to be carried or moved easily, esp by hand
- (of software, files, etc) able to be transferred from one type of computer system to another
- archaic able to be endured; bearable
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- an article designed to be readily carried by hand, such as a television, typewriter, etc
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Word Origin
C14: from Late Latin portābilis, from Latin portāre to carry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for portable
adj.
early 15c., from French portable "that can be carried," from Late Latin portabilis "that can be carried," from Latin portare "to carry" (see port (n.1)). Related: Portability.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper