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Entry 5 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Portal

/pôr'-təl/ · Por·tal · IPA /ˈpɔːɹtl̩/
01 n. A door or gate; hence, a way of entrance or exit, especially one that is grand and imposing.
  1. 1.
    A door or gate; hence, a way of entrance or exit, especially one that is grand and imposing.
    “Thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone.” — Milton.
    “From out the fiery portal of the east.” — Shak.
  2. 2.
    The lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions.(Arch.)
  3. 3.
    The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.(Bridge Building)
  4. 4.
    A prayer book or breviary; a portass.[Obs.]
Phrases & compounds
Portal bracing — a combination of struts and ties which lie in the plane of the inclined braces at a portal, serving to transfer wind pressure from the upper parts of the trusses to an abutment or pier of the bridge.
02 a. Of or pertaining to a porta, especially the porta of the liver; as, the portal vein, which enters the liver at the porta, and divides into …
  1. 1.
    Of or pertaining to a porta, especially the porta of the liver; as, the portal vein, which enters the liver at the porta, and divides into capillaries after the manner of an artery.(Anat.)