What is the difference between a porthole and window in a boat?

Question

What is the difference between a porthole and window in a boat?

Answer 1

Okay, let's get it right.

A circular window in the hull of a ship to admit light and air.

The space shuttle is indeed, a ship.

Known in the Royal Navy as a sidelight and in the Merchant service as a porthole or portlight.

In the civilian retail boat market they refer to openning ports and fixed ports...."fixed ports" is a missnomer and basically modern slang for a non-opening sidelight or portlight.

Essentially, you have port holes...round and able to open and portlights...round and fixed.

Sidelights are not round...ie: oval or rectangles or other shapes. There are opening sidelights obviously and generically they too are referred to as ports or portholes.

Basically life has been simplified and descriptive terms made more all-encompassing or ambiguous(if you prefer) in modern times.

Still, proper terminology can eliminate confusion, don't you think?

Great question.

Answer 2

The hatch is the window that you can climb out of, as in batton down the hatch.  A porthole is also a window (nautical term) on the sides (port/starboard) of a boat.

Answer 3

I think a porthole is a round window that opens up, and a window is just a window.... I think anyway lol

Answer 4

Porthole is a shape window used on watercraft, space ships - cuz shape form is more secure than poly form under high pressure.

But some big ships like a cruise liners or tug boats also have a "usual form" windows, because of a better field of view.

Answer 5

A porthole is a relatively small circular window which is most commonly round in shape, it is generally just used to let light in a room on a ship, not really normally to be opened.

A general window can vary in size and shape and can usually be opened.  These windows are not generally round in shape.

Answer 6

Nothing :)

Answer 7

and window of any shape on a boat is called a porthole

Answer 8

No difference. Porthole is the marine term for a window on a boat.

Answer 9

Must respectfully disagree with LauraJP4...portholes more often OPEN than not. Another answerer is more correct--window is not a marine/nautical term; we say "port" and "porthole" instead.

I have seen the term "port" more often applied to non-opening windows, with "porthole" applying to those which open, but can't say this is gospel. E.g., "porthole" is even applied to spacecraft windows which certainly do NOT open! :-)

As any boater knows, ventilation is important belowdecks, and opening portholes serve a critical role in this.

To summarize, "port" and "porthole" are nautical terms for "window".