portable
    adj 1: easily or conveniently transported; "a portable
           television set" [ant: unportable]
    2: of a motor designed to be attached to the outside of a boat's
       hull; "a portable outboard motor"
    n 1: a small light typewriter; usually with a case in which it
         can be carried

Portable \Port"a*ble\, a. [L. portabilis, fr. portare to carry:
   cf. F. portable. See Port demeanor.]
   1. Capable of being borne or carried; easily transported;
      conveyed without difficulty; as, a portable bed, desk,
      engine. --South.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Possible to be endured; supportable. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            How light and portable my pain seems now! --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   Portable forge. See under Forge.

   Portable steam engine. See under Steam engine.
      [1913 Webster]

portability
portable

    The ease with which a piece of
   software (or file format) can be "ported", i.e. made to run
   on a new platform and/or compile with a new compiler.

   The most important factor is the language in which the
   software is written and the most portable language is almost
   certainly C (though see Vaxocentrism for counterexamples).
   This is true in the sense that C compilers are available for
   most systems and are often the first compiler provided for a
   new system.  This has led several compiler writers to compile
   other languages to C code in order to benefit from its
   portability (as well as the quality of compilers available for
   it).

   The least portable type of language is obviously assembly
   code since it is specific to one particular (family of)
   processor(s).  It may be possible to translate mechanically
   from one assembly code (or even machine code) into another
   but this is not really portability.  At the other end of the
   scale would come interpreted or semi-compiled languages
   such as LISP or Java which rely on the availability of a
   portable interpreter or virtual machine written in a lower
   level language (often C for the reasons outlined above).

   The act or result of porting a program is called a "port".
   E.g. "I've nearly finished the Pentium port of my big bang
   simulation."

   Portability is also an attribute of file formats and depends
   on their adherence to standards (e.g. ISO 8859) or the
   availability of the relevant "viewing" software for different
   platforms (e.g. PDF).

   (1997-06-18)

PORTABLE, adj.  Exposed to a mutable ownership through vicissitudes of
possession.

    His light estate, if neither he did make it
    Nor yet its former guardian forsake it,
    Is portable improperly, I take it.
                                                        Worgum Slupsky