Porch \Porch\, n. [F. porche, L. porticus, fr. porta a gate, entrance, or passage. See Port a gate, and cf. Portico.]

1. (Arch.) A covered and inclosed entrance to a building, whether taken from the interior, and forming a sort of vestibule within the main wall, or projecting without and with a separate roof. Sometimes the porch is large enough to serve as a covered walk. See also Carriage porch, under Carriage, and Loggia.

The graceless Helen in the porch I spied Of Vesta's temple. --Dryden.

2. A portico; a covered walk. [Obs.]

Repair to Pompey's porch, where you shall find find us. --Shak.

The Porch, a public portico, or great hall, in Athens, where Zeno, the philosopher, taught his disciples; hence, sometimes used as equivalent to the school of the Stoics. It was called "h poiki`lh stoa`. [See Poicile.]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)