A portal is a large, impressive doorway or gate, especially at the entrance to a building. In technology and fantasy stories, it can also mean an entry point to a website, system, or another world.
From Old French *portal* “gate,” from Latin *porta* “gate, door.” The digital and fantasy uses extend the idea of a grand entrance into new spaces, both virtual and imagined.
Calling a website home page a *portal* makes logging in feel like stepping through a grand stone gate. It shows how we constantly borrow physical architecture images to make sense of invisible digital spaces.
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