portage

/ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/

//ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"portage" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“portage” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,043. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,043
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An act of carrying, especially the carrying of a boat overland between two waterways.

Corpus desk

Index EN-portage · portage · English

portage · rank #29,043 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,043
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pompey

Nearest frequency peer: Pompey (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “portage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “portage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

portage vs Porte
57% similar
portage vs portal
71% similar
portage vs postage
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for portage
PropertyValue
Headwordportage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#29,043
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “portage”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).portagelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Pompey” (#29,042), “positional” (#29,044), “Pompeii” (#29,041). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “portage” is #29,043. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around portage (IPA /ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,043 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for portage, with forms such as "oprtage", "poratge", and "porrtage". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Porte", "portal", "postage", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English portage, borrowed from Middle French portage, from Old French portage, from Early Medieval Latin portāticum. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -age. The correct English form is portage, spelled P-O-R-T-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An act of carrying, especially the carrying of a boat overland between two waterways.
  2. 2
    The route used for such carrying.
  3. 3
    A charge made for carrying something.
  4. 4
    Carrying capacity; tonnage.
  5. 5
    The wages paid to a sailor when in port, or for a voyage.
  6. 6
    A porthole.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how portage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. gaining thereby the charge of portage; was a great benefit to them
  2. Onely the shippe that came thither payde a small thing according to her portage, aud euery yeere in the port of Orisa were laden fiue and twentie or thirtie ships great and smal with ryce and diuers sortes of fine white bumbaste cloth[…]

Etymology

From Middle English portage, borrowed from Middle French portage, from Old French portage, from Early Medieval Latin portāticum. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -age.

This word in other languages

portage(Français)Portage(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oprtage
  • poratge
  • porrtage
  • portaeg
  • portagge
  • portgae
  • porttage
  • potrage
  • pportage
  • protage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of portage - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

oprtage2poratge2porrtage1portaeg2portagge1portgae2porttage1potrage2
Edit distance from "portage"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "portage"?
"portage" is spelled P-O-R-T-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "portage" mean?
As a noun, "portage" means: An act of carrying, especially the carrying of a boat overland between two waterways.
What words are commonly confused with "portage"?
"portage" is commonly confused with "Porte", "portal", "postage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "portage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "portage" is /ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "portage"?
From Middle English portage, borrowed from Middle French portage, from Old French portage, from Early Medieval Latin portāticum. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -age. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "portage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Pompeii#29,041plagues#29,039pitting#29,038progeny#29,048

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Pilates10 variantsPierson10 variantsPermian10 variantsoveralls10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list