pore1
/pɔː
/noun
A minute opening in a surface, especially the skin or integument of an organism, through which gases, liquids, or microscopic particles may pass.Stomata are minute pores in the surface of leaves through which water vapor and gases, including carbon dioxide, pass....
- The sebum flows through a narrow follicular canal or duct and empties onto the surface of the skin through a pore or opening.
- It is also noteworthy that the cell surfaces are pocked with pores which pass to the interior.
Synonyms
opening, orifice, aperture, hole, outlet, inlet, vent
technical stoma, hydathode, ostiole, ostium, foramen
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French, via Latin from Greek poros 'passage, pore'.
Rhymes
pore2
/pɔː/verb [no object] (pore over/through)
1Be absorbed in reading or studying (something): I spent hours poring over cookery books...
- They watched the video on a large screen and spent hours poring over every detail.
- Mick Wilson suggests a strategy of active reading that means poring over material three times.
- Each bird that appeared was a challenge to name; I studied them thoroughly and pored over my field guides.
Synonyms
study, read intently, peruse, be absorbed in, scrutinize, scan, examine, go over/through
1.1 archaic Think intently; ponder: he has thought and pored on it...
- Some years ago, while poring among the items on offer at a stoop sale in Brooklyn, I came across a copy of the thirteenth printing of The Great Crash by John Kenneth Galbraith.
- In my house, as in many other households, there was a multivolume pictorial history of the war, over which I pored for entire mornings or afternoons, until I knew every picture by heart.
- Drea was poring silently over the books around her.
Usage
People frequently confuse the verbs pore and pour. Pore is used with over or through and means ‘be absorbed in reading something’ (I spent hours poring over cookery books), while pour means ‘flow or cause to flow in a steady stream’ (water poured off the stones pour the marinade over the pork pour the tea). As pore is a much less common word, people often choose the more familiar pour, producing sentences such as she was pouring over books and studying till midnight. Although increasingly common, this use is incorrect in standard English.
Origin
Middle English: perhaps related to peer1.