poortn.
/pʊət/, U.S. /pʊ(ə)rt/, South African English /pʊət/ South African.
A narrow mountain pass or gap, esp. one cut by a stream or river.
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the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > valley > [noun] > mountain pass
gowl1638
notch1649
ghat1698
neck1707
slap1715
narrow1768
bealach1794
poort1796
kotal1880
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun] > through hills or difficult ground
portc1275
pacec1330
close?a1400
destrayt1481
gate1601
gut1615
passc1650
defile1685
ghat1698
mountain pass1707
bealach1794
ca1795
poort1834
Passover1839
droke1848
gateway1884
1796 tr. F. Le Vaillant New Trav. Afr. II. 194 We issued from the mountains through a sort of passage, or defile, which is called the Poort [Fr. qu'on appelle le Poort].
1834 T. Pringle Afr. Sketches ii. 149 We entered the poort, or gorge of the mountains, through which the River of Baboons issues.
1850 R. Gordon-Cumming Five Years Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. iii. 44 This poort, or mountain pass, the terror of waggon-drivers.
1932 C. Fuller Louis Trigardt's Trek vi. 68 Once through the poort, the junction of the spruit with the river is but a few hundred yards off.
1949 L. G. Green In Land of Afternoon i. 21 A poort is different from a pass, for it is a passage through the mountains along the bed of a stream.
1990 Frontline (Johannesburg) Mar. 20 Round each corner there's another stretch of poort... Meiringspoort goes on and on, and you can marvel that Mr Meiring ever worked his way through this mighty gateway of God.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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