port·a·ble / ˈpôrtəbəl/ • adj. able to be easily carried or moved, esp. because of being a lighter and smaller version than usual: a portable television. ∎  Comput. (of software) able to be transferred from one machine or system to another.• n. a version of something, such as a small lightweight television or computer, that can be easily carried. ∎  a small transportable building used as a classroom.DERIVATIVES: port·a·bil·i·ty / ˌpôrtəˈbilətē/ n.port·a·bly / -blē/ adv.

portable
1. Another word for machine-independent.

2. A word applied to software that can readily be transferred to other machines, although not actually machine-independent.

3. A computer that can be simply carried from one place to another by one person. They cannot necessarily be used in transit. Examples include laptop and notebook computers.

portable XIV. — (O)F. portable or late L. portābilis, f. portāre carry; see PORT3, -ABLE.
So portage transportation, carriage; mariner's venture in cargo. XV. — F.

portable (por-tă-bŭl) adj. (in radiography) denoting light-weight equipment (and the images it produces) for use away from the radiography department, when patients cannot easily be moved (for example, on intensive therapy units).