Definition of portolan in English:
portolan
(also portolano)
nounPlural portolanos, Plural portolans ˈpɔːtəlanˈpôrtl-ən
historical A book of sailing directions with charts and descriptions of harbours and coasts.
〈史〉航海指南
Example sentencesExamples
- From early times, charts called portolans (harbor guides) were available to provide details required by the coastline-hugging sailor - depth of the water, location of treacherous rocks, special landmarks, et cetera.
- Nonetheless, in this period the portolan chart remained very much centred on the Mediterranean and destinations easily reached from there.
- The earliest portolan maps covered the Mediterranean and Black Sea and showed wind directions and such information useful to sailors.
- In its purest form, the portolan chart was a highly functional tool for navigation whether in the contained arena of the Mediterranean or later in the open oceans of the world.
- On an oceanic voyage, however, especially at higher latitudes, the converging meridians on the physical globe conflicted with the parallel meridians shown on the traditional portolan chart.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Italian portolano, from porto 'harbour'.