Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

portolano

[pawr-tl-ah-noh, pohr-]
See more synonyms for portolano on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural por·to·la·nos, por·to·la·ni [pawr-tl-ah-nee, pohr-] /ˌpɔr tlˈɑ ni, ˌpoʊr-/.
  1. a descriptive atlas of the Middle Ages, giving sailing directions and providing charts showing rhumb lines and the location of ports and various coastal features.
Show More

Origin of portolano

1855–60; < Italian: shipmaster's guidebook; earlier, harbor master < Medieval Latin portulānus. See port1, -ule, -an
Also called rutter.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for portolano

Historical Examples

  • A sea-chart—probably a portolano—is mentioned as early as the account of the Crusade of St. Louis, in 1270.

    The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea

    Gomes Eannes de Azurara