porte-cochère

English

Noun

porte-cochère (plural porte-cochères or portes-cochères)

1. Alternative form of porte cochère
   • 1862, Victor Hugo, “It is Not Enough to be a Drunkard to be Immortal”, in Cha[rle]s E[dwin] Wilbour, transl., Les Misérables. Cosette. […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: [George W.] Carleton, publisher, […], →OCLC, book 8 (Cemeteries Take What is Given Them), page 150, column 1:

     The Vaugirard Cemetery was an exception among the cemeteries of Paris. It had its peculiar usages, so far that it had its porte-cochère, and its small door which, in the quarter, old people, tenacious of old words, called the cavalier door, and the pedestrian door.

   • 1883 June 9, “Portes-Cochères”, in George Godwin, editor, The Builder: An Illustrated Weekly Magazine for the Architect, Engineer, Archæologist, Constructor, Sanitary Reformer, and Art-lover, volume XLIV, number 2105, Great Queen St. London, W.C.: Wyman & Sons, →OCLC, page 763, columns 1 and 3:

     [T]he feature of the large porte-cochère or carriage doorway is certainly sufficient in itself, were there no other dissimilarities, to attract even the most unobservant eye. […] The fact, however, of the porte-cochère taking up so much of the ground-floor is often most ingeniously compensated by making the space to the right or left of the doorway, as the case may be, into an excellent shop. […] [T]he yard at the back into which the porte-cochère opens has planned around it the stables and coach-house, an admirable arrangement of which we have more than once spoken in these columns.

   • 1883 August 15, R. C. Gardner, “All Out-doors.—VI.”, in Albion W[inegar] Tourgée, editor, The Continent: An Illustrated Weekly Magazine, volume IV, number 7 (number 79 overall), Philadelphia, Pa.: Our Continent Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 208, column 2:

     This killing of two birds with one stone, making a porte-cochère and a second-story balcony at the same time, was so attractive to Mrs. Smith that it turned the scale in favour of a change. Her stable and carriage-drive were removed to the other side of the house, and Mrs. John rejoiced as an apparent joint-proprietor of the admired summer-house.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 69–70:

     But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, […] By the time we reached the house we were thanking our stars she had come. Mrs. Cooke came out from under the port-cochère to welcome her.

   • 1913, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “Of That There Could Be No Question”, in Eldorado: An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel, London: Hodder & Stoughton; New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC, part I, page 210:

     The porte-cochère, so-called, is but a narrow doorway, and is actually situated in the Rue St. Germain l'Auxerrois. […] The porte-cochère of his former lodging-house was not yet open; he took up his stand close beside it.

   • 2012, Andrew Martin, “The Expansion of the Metropolitan and the Expansion of the District – and a Pause for Thought”, in Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, London: Profile Books, →ISBN, page 78:

     The station remains connected to the hotel by a glass canopy or porte-cochère that was much admired by John Betjeman, but you could stand all day under that canopy and not see anyone walk from station to hotel.

   • 2014, Stephen Fry, “Living the Life”, in More Fool Me, London: Michael Joseph, →ISBN, page 223:

     The front desk had already made a great fuss of Johnny and Mary, lining up to greet him at the famous porte-cochère as soon as his splendid old Rolls-Royce had arrived with his faithful driver, factotum and friend John Novelli at the wheel.