porthouse

Noun

porthouse (plural porthouses)

1. A building that contains the offices of officials responsible for running a port, space for customs, etc.
   • We had accomplished about three-quarters of[ the distance, and were beginning to look to the terminataon of our labors; Cape Traverse was full in sight, and even the porthouse, which was our goal, and we knew that we could now be seen by the lookout, who watched the course of the boat as soon as it...1867, The American Stamp Mercury: A Journal Devoted to Stamp Collecting
   • To make this short trip, one goes to the wharf of Cavite or to where the porthouse is and, once there, ask about the ship for Bulacan.1885, Jaime Escobar y Lozano, Index Guide for Travelers in the Philippine Islands, page 144
2. The main cabin on the port side of a boat.
   • The starboard-house is a small galley and the porthouse contains the stairway leading below to the captain's cabin and mate's messroom.1936, United States Naval Institute, Proceedings - Volume 62, Issue 1, page 656
   • The portholes (K) are opened from the outside by string (D) attached to the porthouse slide (H), and the slide is lifted until it is halted by the slide top (G).1975, World Health Organization. Vector Biology, Control Unit, WHO/VBC, page 34