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porte-cochère

 
Dictionary: porte-co·chère
or porte-co·chere (pôrt'kō-shâr', pōrt'-) pronunciation
n.
  1. A carriage entrance leading through a building or wall into an inner courtyard.
  2. A roofed structure covering a driveway at the entrance of a building to provide shelter while entering or leaving a vehicle.

[French porte cochère : porte, door + cochère, for coaches.]


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Architecture: porte cochère
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1. A carriage porch.
2. A covered carriage or automobile entryway leading to a courtyard.

porte cochère, 1
porte cochère, 2


WordNet: porte-cochere
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a carriage entrance passing through a building to an enclosed courtyard

Meaning #2: canopy extending out from a building entrance to shelter those getting in and out of vehicles


Wikipedia: Porte-cochere
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A typical 19th century porte-cochère

A porte-cochere (French porte-cochère, literally "coach gate", also called a carriage porch) is the architectural term for a porch or portico-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building, through which it is possible for a horse and carriage or motor vehicle to pass, in order for the occupants to alight under cover, protected from the weather.

Example seen from behind at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, built starting in 1864 in Norwalk, Connecticut

The porte-cochere was a feature of many late 18th and 19th-century mansions and public buildings. Well-known examples are at Buckingham Palace in London and the White House in Washington D.C. Modern examples of porte-cochere exist in Central Milton Keynes on the boulevard system. Today a porte-cochère is often constructed at the entrance to public buildings such as churches, hotels, health facilities, homes, and schools where people are delivered by other drivers. Porte-cochères should not be confused with carports in which vehicles are parked; at a porte-cochère the vehicle merely passes through, stopping only for a passenger to get out.

At the foot of the porte-cochere, there are often a couple of guard stones to prevent the wheels of the vehicle from damaging the wall.


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Porte-cochere" Read more