porter

Etymology 1

From Middle English porter, portere, portier, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French porteor, from Late Latin portātor, from past participle of Latin portāre (“to carry”).

noun

1. A person who carries luggage and related objects.
   By the time I reached the train station I was exhausted, but fortunately there was a porter waiting.
   Tips were an important part of porters' income, and at Christmas passengers felt there was extra pressure to give them - despite some perceiving the level of service to be poor. […] In contrast, the Westminster Gazette in 1912 was much more positive about railway staff, praising the "...army of porters hustling and bustling hither and thither with barrows groaning under the weight of bags and baggage and... the ever-patient and long-suffering guards, courteously giving information and advice to the querulous passengers... to the porter the Christmas season means a continuous round of heavy labour, extremely tiring to both nerves and temper, and this fact the public too often seem either to forget or ignore." December 14 2022, David Turner, “The Edwardian Christmas getaway...”, in RAIL, number 972, page 35
2. (entomology) An ant having the specialized role of carrying.
3. (computing) One who ports software (makes it usable on another platform).

Etymology 2

From Middle English porter, portere, portare, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French portier, from Late Latin portarius (“gatekeeper”), from Latin porta (“gate”).

noun

1. A person in control of the entrance to a building.
2. (bowling) An employee who clears and cleans tables and puts bowling balls away.
3. (beer) A strong, dark ale, originally favored by porters (etymology 1, sense 1), similar to a stout but less strong.
   Coordinate term: stout
4. (beer, Ireland) Stout (malt brew).

verb

1. To serve as a porter; to carry.