Pōrch, n.
[Fr. porche, Pr. porge, Sp. & It. portico, A-S. portic, Lat. porticus, from porta, a gate, entrance, or passage. Cf. PORTICO.]
Sense 1. (Arch.) A kind of vestibule at the entrance, of temples, halls, churches, or other buildings; hence, a stately or ornamental entrance way.
The graceless Helen in the porch I spied Of Vesta’s temple. Dryden.
Sense 2. A portico; a covered walk. [Obs.]
Repair to Pompey’s porch, where you shall find us. Shak.
The Porch, a public portico in Athens, where Zeno, the philosopher, taught his disciples; hence, sometimes used as equivalent to the school of the Stoics. It was called ποικίλη, the painted porch, from the pictures of Polygnotus, and other eminent painters, with which it was adorned.
