Portative

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A portative organ. historical
Adjective
  1. 1
    Portable. archaic

    "Was neuere leef vpon lynde · liȝter þer-after / And portatyf and persant · as þe poynt of a nedle."

  2. 2
    Capable of holding up or carrying. obsolete

    "the portative force of a magnet, of atmospheric pressure, or of capillarity"

Example

More examples

"Was neuere leef vpon lynde · liȝter þer-after / And portatyf and persant · as þe poynt of a nedle."

Etymology

From Middle French portatif, corresponding to port + -ative.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.