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Glite Dictionary
👜 Easy to carry ⌨️ A small typewriter
portable

portable

8 4.7
A small typewriter that you can carry in a case
  • noun
  • /ˈpɔːrtəbl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : máquina de escribir portátil
  • I brought my portable typewriter to the writer's retreat so I could work on my novel anywhere.
  • PlayStation Portable
  • JT Portable
  • PSP (PlayStation Portable)

Examples

  • Well, you're interested in this gorgeous '40 Royal Portable.

    Predestination (2014)

  • Two typewriters, a Remington Portable, which I posted about here, and an Imperial Good Companion 5.

    Blog text (18)

  • - No, it was, um... an Underwood portable with a bent key.

    Compulsion (1959)

  • The glow of the small portable flickered over them like a blue flame.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • I transfer files from my portable by copying them to a disk and carrying them over.

    Academic text (1993)

  • They announced that the ransom letter was typed on an Underwood portable.

    Swoon (1992)

  • She opened the case to reveal her vintage portable typewriter, ready for use after many years.

  • His favorite portable typewriter was light enough to carry in one hand while he balanced his coffee in the other.

Antonyms

stationary
46 2.9

Not moving and staying in one place

Compounds

portable computer
4 2.7

A small computer you can carry to use in different places

portable saw
3.4

A small tool with a round blade that you carry to cut wood or other materials

portable circular saw
4.5

A small machine with a round blade that you hold to cut wood or metal

How Portable

handheld
35 3.7
portable
  • Archaic
8 4.7
desktop
35 2.8

Surface Forms

portable singular
portables plural

Morphology

portable = portable (semi-transparent) = port + able

The noun is formed by conversion from the adjective 'portable', but the specific sense 'a portable typewriter' is a conventional ellipsis rather than fully compositional meaning.

Etymology

Portable as a noun for a small typewriter comes from the same Latin root portare 'to carry' because writers and reporters could carry the machine in a case. So a portable is something you can easily take with you.