Deport

How to spell deport

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce deport

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does deport mean?

1. verbTo officially expel a foreign national from a country, usually for breaking immigration or legal rules.
2. verbTo conduct or carry oneself in a particular manner, especially in formal or public settings.

Deport in a sentence

• The government planned to deport anyone who overstayed a visa.

• She taught the new staff how to deport themselves in front of clients.

• Officials moved to deport the man after his asylum claim failed.

• The diplomat knew how to deport himself at every official dinner.

Where does deport come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This verb traces back to the Latin deportare, which combined de-, meaning 'away', with portare, meaning 'to carry', so the literal sense was simply 'to carry away' or 'to convey off'. English picked it up through Old French déporter in the fifteenth century, and at first it carried a softer, more reflexive meaning: to carry or conduct oneself, that is, to behave in a particular manner. The harsher modern sense of forcibly removing a person from a country grew up later, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when authorities spoke of carrying convicts or unwanted foreigners away to distant places. The same portare root supplies a whole family of familiar relatives, including 'export', 'import', 'transport' and 'porter', all of which involve carrying something. Remembering that buried 'port' (carry) explains the spelling and ties deport to its many cousins, while the related noun 'deportment' preserves the older 'behave oneself' meaning.

How the word is built

• de- (away)
• port (from Latin portare: to carry)