Porteous

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a breviary, the book of daily prayers and offices used by clergy ; a surname borne by people of Scottish descent
2. A medieval name for a portable prayer book containing the daily offices ; a family name common in Scotland, associated with figures such as Captain John Porteous
3. The old term for a breviary used in the Church ; a Scottish family surname, most famous from the 1736 Edinburgh riot named after one bearer

Etymology: Porteous, the old word for a breviary or prayer book, comes from Anglo-Norman "porteose" and "portehos", which in turn descend from Old French "portehors". That French term is built from "porte", meaning carry, and "hors", meaning outside. The compound describes a book small enough to be carried out of doors, a portable volume a traveller or churchman could take along on a journey. The sense of "outside" in the name is the key to why it was made. Medieval clergy were expected to recite a set cycle of daily offices, and a compact book holding those prayers let them keep to the schedule away from the church or the monastery. The name therefore records the book's purpose rather than its appearance. Note that the same spelling later became a surname and a word for a kind of roll-call or service book in other contexts, but the core meaning remains the prayer book carried out into the world.

Synonyms: breviary