outport

• Format: Manuscript
• Language: English
• Subjects: English language > Dialects > Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/elrcdne/id/60001

outport n We saw the other day a polite protest against the usage of "outport" or "settlement" to describe progressive commun- ities which have ceased to be ports and are something more than settle- ments. This is an old controversy. It seems to stem, in the first in- stance, from a feeling that "outport" is a derogatory term. But is it? The Oxford Dictionary defines outport in these words: "A port outside a city or town; in England a term including all ports, other than that of London.".Outport had the same meaning in Newfoundland that it had in England.Here it was all ports outside St. John's.We still think outport a good word with a dignified meaning to which nobody should have objection in the belief that it represents a slur or mark of inferiority. PRINTED ITEM DNE-cit G.M.Story August 1956 Used I and Sup Used I and Sup Not used