Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A woman doorkeeper or porter, especially in a convent.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See porteress.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A female porter.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a female porter (person in control of the entrance to a building)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The portress was a heavy sleeper, and I knew where her keys hung, on a nail just within the door of her cell.

    The Hermit and the Wild Woman 1906

  • The portress was a heavy sleeper, and I knew where her keys hung, on

    The Hermit and the Wild Woman Edith Wharton 1899

  • The portress was a nice woman, whose good-will Count Abel gained on the very first day.

    Samuel Brohl and Company Victor Cherbuliez 1864

  • After a while the portress came through the choir looking for her and told her she was needed in the kitchen.

    Sensual Encounters: Monastic Women and Spirituality in Medieval Germany 2008

  • He heard the horsemen when they came, and the voice of the portress and other voices, Welsh and English both, and among them, surely, the voice of John Miller.

    A Caregiver's Homage To The Very Old 2010

  • The portress had conducted them to the cell where their charge, Elis ap Cynan, would be found in the nearer bed, and John Miller had carried him out in his arms, warmly swathed, and bestowed him in the litter sent to bear him home.

    A Caregiver's Homage To The Very Old 2010

  • The portress set to scraping away the grass from what she called her pavement, with an old knife, and, as she tore out the blades, she grumbled:

    Les Miserables 2008

  • As he descended again at a run, the portress hailed him: — “Monsieur de Courfeyrac!”

    Les Miserables 2008

  • The whispers of many men and the protestations of the portress were audible in the corridor.

    Les Miserables 2008

  • In this open-air society, it is the rag-picker who salutes and the portress who patronizes.

    Les Miserables 2008

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  • "As he approached the gate, his agitation increased; he knocked with impatience and concern, the door opened, and he had actually asked if Mrs. Gauntlet was at home, before he perceived that the portress was no other than his dear Emilia."

    — Smollett, Peregrine Pickle

    January 17, 2022