Portland1
(ˈpɔətlənd)
A peninsula or ‘island’ on the coast of Dorsetshire; attrib. in names of natural and artificial products of Portland Island, or of objects connected with it; as Portland arrowroot, Portland beds: see quots.; Portland cement, a cement resembling P. stone in colour: see cement n. 1 note; also attrib., as P. cement maker, mill, etc.; Portland oolite, a limestone of the Upper Oolite formation, especially developed in the Isle of Portland; Portland powder: see quot. 1858; Portland sago = P. arrowroot; also called Portland Island sago; Portland sand, Portland screw: see quots.; Portland spurge, Euphorbia Portlandica; Portland stone, a valuable building stone quarried in the Isle of Portland; also ellipt.; also, applied to the colour of Portland stone.
| 1854–67 C. A. Harris Dict. Med. Terminol., Portland Sago, *Portland arrow-root, a fecula prepared from Arum maculatum in the Isle of Portland. 1866 Treas. Bot. 97/1 From the tubers of this plant [Arum maculatum]..a starch called Portland Arrowroot was formerly..prepared. |
| 1849 Craig, *Portland beds, or Portland limestone, a series of calcareous strata belonging to the upper part of the Oolite formation, found chiefly..in the Isle of Portland. |
| 1824 Specif. J. Aspdin's Patent No. 5022 An improvement in..artificial stone..which I call *Portland cement. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Portland-cement Maker, a manufacturer of cement for builders. 1885 Times, Engineering Suppl. 12 Apr. 60/1 ‘Portland’ cement..was patented in 1824 by Joseph Aspdin, a bricklayer, of Leeds, who fancied that it bore some resemblance to the oolitic limestone of Portland Island. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 17 July 6/3 The neighbourhood of these two rivers [Thames and Medway], from being the cradle of the Portland Cement industry, has now become the chief seat of the manufacture. |
| 1833 J. Phillips Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VI. 533 Names of Strata on Mr. Smith's Map and Sections [1815]..9 Portland rock... Present Names [1833]..*Portland oolite. |
| 1801 Med. Jrnl. V. 417 A Printed paper..recommending a revival of the old remedy for the Gout, known by the name of the *Portland Powder. From [this] we should be led to believe that this remedy was purchased and dispersed by the present Duke of Portland; whereas, it was by his father, many years ago. 1858 Mayne Expos. Lex., Portland Powder, a name of a formerly celebrated gout remedy, consisting of equal parts of birthwort, gentian, germander tops and leaves, ground pine and lesser centaury, dried, powdered, and sifted. |
| 1849 Craig, *Portland sago. |
| 1859 Page Handbk. Geol. Terms, Portland Stone and *Portland Sand, a well-known group of the upper oolite... It consists of shelly freestones of variable texture underlaid by thick beds of sand. |
| 1885 Lyell Elem. Geol. (ed. 4) 294 The cast of a spiral univalve called by the quarrymen the ‘*Portland Screw’..is common. |
| 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 11 Order Euphorbiaceæ... Euphorbia Portlandica (*Portland Spurge). |
| 1673 J. Ray Observations Journey Low-Countries 120 These figured Bodies were of very different Substances as to hardness..some soft Stone..others as hard as *Portland Stone. a 1706 Evelyn Diary an. 1666 (1955) III. 459 All the ornaments, Columns, freezes, Capitels & projectures of massie Portland stone flew off. 1711 J. Thornhill Jrnl. 21 May in Proc. Suffolk Inst. Archæol. & Nat. Hist. (1907) XIII. i. 35 Mr. Martin having cap'd his peers with Keitan stone & made Pedestalls of Portland, ye paving is genly Newcastle stone. a 1720 Sheffield (Dk. Buckhm.) Wks. (1729) II. 258 Each step of one entire Portland-stone. 1851 Borrow Lavengro xciv, Lunatic-looking erections, in what the simpletons call the modern Gothic taste, of Portland-stone. 1869 Bradshaw's Railway Manual XXI. p. xxiv. (Advt.), Anitcorrosion paint. White. Light Stone. Bath do. Cream Colour. Light Portland Stone. Drab or Portland do. 1963 Times 17 May 15/7 Viewed with a shaft of sunlight on it, the Portland stone is startlingly white. |
Hence
Portˈlandian a. Geol., the specific designation of a subdivision of the Upper Oolite, developed in the Isle of Portland.
| 1885 Geikie Text-bk. Geol. (ed. 2) 798 The Upper or Portland Oolites..are divisible into three groups: (1) Kimmeridgian, at the base; (2) Portlandian... This group, resting directly on the Kimmeridge clay, consists of two divisions, the Portland Sand and Portland Stone. Ibid. 799 Among Portlandian fossils a single species of coral (Isastræa oblonga) occurs. |