purport

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pur·port

(pər-pôrt′)

tr.v. pur·port·ed, pur·port·ing, pur·ports

To have or present the often false appearance of being or intending; claim or profess: a novel that purports to be a sailor's memoir; an author who purports to have witnessed the events.

n. (pûr′pôrt′)

1. Meaning that is presented, intended, or implied; import. See Synonyms at substance.

2. Intention; purpose: The purport of the visit was to discuss trade relations.

[Middle English purporten, to set forth, from Anglo-Norman purporter : pur-, forth (from Latin prō-; see pro-¹) + porter, to carry (from Latin portāre; see per- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

purport

vb (tr)

1. to claim (to be a certain thing, etc) by manner or appearance, esp falsely

2. (esp of speech or writing) to signify or imply

3. meaning; significance

4. purpose; object; intention

[C15: from Anglo-French: contents, from Old French porporter to convey, from por- forth + porter to carry, from Latin portāre]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pur•port

(v. pərˈpɔrt, -ˈpoʊrt; n. ˈpɜr pɔrt, -poʊrt)

v.t.

1. to present, esp. deliberately, the appearance of being; profess or claim: a man purporting to be the manager.

2. to convey; express or imply.

3. the meaning, import, or sense.

4. a purpose or intention.

[1375–1425; (v.) late Middle English < Anglo-French purporter to convey]

syn: See meaning.

purport

Past participle: purported
Gerund: purporting

Imperative
purport
purport

Present
I purport
you purport
he/she/it purports
we purport
you purport
they purport

Preterite
I purported
you purported
he/she/it purported
we purported
you purported
they purported

Present Continuous
I am purporting
you are purporting
he/she/it is purporting
we are purporting
you are purporting
they are purporting

Present Perfect
I have purported
you have purported
he/she/it has purported
we have purported
you have purported
they have purported

Past Continuous
I was purporting
you were purporting
he/she/it was purporting
we were purporting
you were purporting
they were purporting

Past Perfect
I had purported
you had purported
he/she/it had purported
we had purported
you had purported
they had purported

Future
I will purport
you will purport
he/she/it will purport
we will purport
you will purport
they will purport

Future Perfect
I will have purported
you will have purported
he/she/it will have purported
we will have purported
you will have purported
they will have purported

Future Continuous
I will be purporting
you will be purporting
he/she/it will be purporting
we will be purporting
you will be purporting
they will be purporting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been purporting
you have been purporting
he/she/it has been purporting
we have been purporting
you have been purporting
they have been purporting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been purporting
you will have been purporting
he/she/it will have been purporting
we will have been purporting
you will have been purporting
they will have been purporting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been purporting
you had been purporting
he/she/it had been purporting
we had been purporting
you had been purporting
they had been purporting

Conditional
I would purport
you would purport
he/she/it would purport
we would purport
you would purport
they would purport

Past Conditional
I would have purported
you would have purported
he/she/it would have purported
we would have purported
you would have purported
they would have purported

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	purport - the intended meaning of a communication intent, spirit meaning, signification, import, significance - the message that is intended or expressed or signified; "what is the meaning of this sentence"; "the significance of a red traffic light"; "the signification of Chinese characters"; "the import of his announcement was ambiguous"
	2.	purport - the pervading meaning or tenor; "caught the general drift of the conversation" drift tenor, strain - the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"
Verb	1.	purport - have the often specious appearance of being, intending, or claiming; "The letter purports to express people's opinion" claim - assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing; "He claimed that he killed the burglar"
	2.	purport - propose or intend; "I aim to arrive at noon" purpose, aim, propose intend, mean, think - have in mind as a purpose; "I mean no harm"; "I only meant to help you"; "She didn't think to harm me"; "We thought to return early that night"

purport

verb claim, allege, proclaim, maintain, declare, pretend, assert, pose as, profess a book that purports to tell the whole truth

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

purport

noun

1. That which is signified by a word or expression:

acceptation, connotation, denotation, import, intent, meaning, message, sense, significance, significancy, signification, value.

2. The gist of a specific action or situation:

idea, import, meaning, point, significance, significancy.

3. The general sense or significance, as of an action or statement:

amount, burden, drift, import, substance, tenor.

Idioms: sum and substance, sum total.

4. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse:

aim, burden, drift, intent, meaning, substance, tendency, tenor, thrust.

Translations

senso significare significato voler passare per

beweren doel gewicht intentie laten

propósito

подразумевать

purport

(frm)

A. [ˈpɜːpət] N

1. (= meaning) → significado m, sentido m

2. (= purpose) → intención f

B. [pɜːˈpɔːt] VT to purport to be → pretender ser

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

purport

[pə^rˈpɔː^rt] vi
to purport to be sth → prétendre être qch
to purport to do sth → prétendre faire qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

purport

n → Tenor m

(= convey, mean) → hindeuten auf (+acc)

(= profess, claim) to purport to be/do something (person) → vorgeben, etw zu sein/tun; (object) → etw sein/tun sollen; he is purported to be a spy → es wird behauptet, er sei ein Spion; the law is purported to be in the public interest → das Gesetz soll dem Interesse der Öffentlichkeit dienen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

purport

[n ˈpɜːpət; vb pɜːˈpɔːt]

1. n → significato, senso generale

2. vt to purport to be/do → pretendere di essere/fare

References in classic literature ?

The title means 'The Tailor Retailored,' and the book purports to be an account of the life of a certain mysterious German, Professor Teufelsdrockh

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Ismene tells him of the latest oracle and interprets to him its purport, that some day the Theban invaders of Athens will be routed in a battle near the grave of Oedipus.

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Pravdin was a well-known Panslavist abroad, and Countess Lidia Ivanovna described the purport of his letter.

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It is unnecessary to dwell upon the evasive though polite manner with which the French general had eluded every attempt of Heyward to worm from him the purport of the communication he had proposed making, or on the decided, though still polished message, by which he now gave his enemy to understand, that, unless he chose to receive it in person, he should not receive it at all.

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A susceptible observer, at any rate, might have regarded it as affording very little evidence of the general benignity of soul whereof it purported to be the outward reflection.

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I dare say my priest had his notion of the general shape and purport, the gross material body of the thing, but he did not trouble me with it, while we sat tranced together in the presence of its soul.

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There was a murmur among the dignified and reverend occupants of the balcony; and Governor Bellingham gave expression to its purport, speaking in an authoritative voice, although tempered with respect towards the youthful clergyman whom he addressed.

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The purport of the muttering was: 'that Rogue Riderhood, by George!

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Like a flash of lightning in the darkness their full purport dawned upon me--the key to the three great doors of the atmosphere plant!

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You can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse, however your natural delicacy may lead you to dissemble; my attentions have been too marked to be mistaken.

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In the third category he included those Brothers (the majority) who saw nothing in Freemasonry but the external forms and ceremonies, and prized the strict performance of these forms without troubling about their purport or significance.

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Slowly the men standing there at the board of Sir Roger de Leybourn grasped the full purport of that awful name.