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🛶 Carrying boats 🛶 To carry overland 🛤️ Overland path 💰 Carrying cost
portage

portage

8.3
A charge for carrying goods over land between rivers or lakes
  • noun
  • /ˈpɔːrtɪdʒ/
translation icon : tarifa de porteo
  • The merchant calculated the portage before agreeing to transport his wares upstream.

Examples

  • Many travelers avoid the portage costs.

  • The portage fee was surprisingly high.

  • In the 18th century, portage was an important expense for traders navigating rivers separated by land.

  • The crew was charged a high portage to move their goods across the isthmus.

  • The portage fee for transporting goods between the two rivers was higher than expected.

  • He calculated the portage costs for moving his supplies across the area without a boat.

  • During our trip, we had to pay a portage fee to move our canoes across the land.

Synonyms

cartage
vsportage
  • Archaic
1 8.4

The cost of moving goods a short distance by truck or cart

is a fee for carrying goods over land between waterways
freightage
vsportage
  • Specialized
8.8

The payment for carrying goods by ship, truck, or train

is a specific fee for carrying goods over land between waterways
lighterage
vsportage
  • Specialized
9.9

Money paid to move goods by a small flat boat between ship and shore

is a charge for carrying goods over land between waterways rather than by barge

How Expensive

portage
8.3
freightage
  • Specialized
8.8
small fee
9 1.0

Surface Forms

portage singular
portages plural

Morphology

portage = port (opaque) = port + age

The historical meaning is 'carrying', but the specialized sense of a fee or charge is a later institutional extension rather than a predictable combination of the parts.

Etymology

Portage comes from French porter 'to carry' plus the ending -age that can mean an action or its cost. That's why portage can also mean the charge asked for carrying goods over land between waters.