Other forms: porches
A porch is the covered platform at the front door where people sit on warm evenings. On the porch, a front porch, porch swing.
The American kind is a room-sized outdoor space and part of the architecture of a street — people on porches see and are seen, which is why their disappearance is blamed for a loss of neighbourliness. The British porch is a small shelter over the door. Note that the Latin porticus gives portico too.
1nounporchA covered platform or shelter at the front door.
“They sat on the front porch in the evening, watching the neighbours walk by.”
porch is a covered entrance.
Also accepted in games: veranda
Old French porche comes from Latin porticus, a covered walk, from porta, a gate. Portico and port come from the same doorway.
Proto-Indo-European
*per- (fare)
Latin
porticus — portico
Middle English
porche
English, today
porch
From Middle English porche, from Old French -, from Latin porticus (“portico”). a doublet of portego and portico and porticus.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA