portly
11
6.1
- adjective
- /ˈpɔrtli/
:
corpulento
- At the edge of the square, a portly middle-aged man has parked an ice-cream van.
- portly man
- portly gentleman
- portly fellow
Big fat pay pay a somewhat portly, portly tabby cat who does not enjoy.
- Big fat pay pay a somewhat portly, portly tabby cat who does not enjoy.
Examples
-
At five feet seven, she was somewhat portly with heavy arms and a robust bosom.
Fiction book (2001) -
That portly gentleman right over there with the beard.
-
A good portly man of faith.
-
The principal was a portly man who wore a different tie each day of the week.
Fiction book (2002) -
Many rooms back, a portly man with white hair was signing ledgers one after the other.
Fiction book (1997) -
There is an old, portly gent in a city suit emerging from it.
Fiction book (1992) -
Still, he found something ingenuous about the portly, balding stranger beside him.
Fiction book (1999) -
My new owner was a portly, bearded, punctilious gentleman in a vest and suit.
Fiction book (2002) -
Several passersby tipped their hats to the portly, bearded man with the brass-headed cane and his canine attendants.
Fiction book (1992) -
The portly gentleman walked slowly down the street, drawing the attention of everyone around.
Synonyms
20
2.8
Short and wide in body with a solid build
4
7.3
A person who is very fat with a large, heavy body
3
3.9
Rather heavy in body, often said politely about a person
1
3.7
A little fat in a soft, round way
Antonyms
How Fat
Surface Forms
Morphology
portly = port (opaque) = port + ly
Although built from 'port' (meaning bearing) + '-ly', the modern sense 'somewhat fat/stately' is not derivable by typical learners because the relevant sense of 'port' is rare/archaic and the meaning has shifted.
Etymology
Portly comes from an old idea of 'bearing' or 'carrying' yourself and is from the same root as porter, a person who 'carries' things. It first meant someone with a proud, well carried presence, so today portly describes someone a bit fat but often still dignified.