-port- (etymology)

Several English words include the element -port-. These can confuse non-native learners at times, and their history may be interesting to native speakers; so some notes are given here.

Three Latin roots (two linked) contribute to many of these. Portāre means 'to carry, bring' (cf French porter), and is the most productive root. Porta means a 'door, gate[way]', and, like portus, a 'harbour, haven or port', is derived from an older root por, meaning 'to pierce'.

There is a Greek verb phero (φέρω), meaning: to bear, carry, convey, suffer, endure, produce, i.e., virtually the same meanings as fero. Like fero, it is a defective verb with forms only for the present and imperfect - oiso (’οίσω) is used for the future, and enenka (’ηνεγκα) for the aorist. It regularly produces adjectives with the -phoros (-φόρος) suffix, such as nosephoros (νοσηφόρος, disease-bringing), thanatophoros (θανατοφόρος) or thanatephoros (θανατηφόρος, death-bringing) and hupnophoros (‘υπνοφόρος, sleep-bringing). So although Christophoros doesn't appear in Liddell and Scott, it is well-formed.

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