portfolio
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɔːtˈfəʊ.liˌəʊ/
ipa: /-əʊl.jəʊ/
ipa: /pɔɹtˈfoʊ.liˌoʊ/
ipa: /poɹt-/
ipa: /-oʊl.joʊ/
ipa: /poːtˈfəʉ.liˌəʉ/
ipa: [poːtˈfɐʉ.liˌɐʉ]
ipa: [-ɐʉl.jɐʉ]
ipa: /poːtˈfɐʉ.liˌɐʉ/
ipa: /-ɐʉl.jɐʉ/
rhymes: -əʊljəʊ
Forms: form: portfolios
Etymology: From Italian portafoglio; cognate with French portefeuille (“folder, wallet”), from Latin portāre (“to carry”) and folium (“sheet”). The meaning "collection of responsibilities" came by extension in the 1930s.
Senses: examples: text: He opened an embroidered portfolio; and, from its perfumed depths, took out a letter, which he began to read aloud.
ref: 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Introduction”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 142:
glosses: A case for carrying papers, drawings, photographs, maps and other flat documents.
glosses: The collection of such documents, especially the works of an artist or photographer.
topics: government
politics
synonyms: ministry
glosses: The post and the responsibilities of a cabinet minister or other head of a government department.
examples: text: Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.
ref: 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
topics: business
finance
glosses: The group of investments and other assets held by an investor.
examples: text: I would like to introduce you to our portfolio of services.
text: In the past, thoughts were too real to be kept like a cultural portfolio of stocks and bonds. But now we have mental assets.
ref: 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 378:
text: Father: Darling, and no disrespect to you, Vicar, but what I'm thinking is this. How about a mixed portfolio, whereby we spread him through Judaism, Islam, Hindu, and so on, maintaining a firm base in the Church of England?
Mother: It does sound safer.
Father: Exactly.
ref: 1989 February 10, Stephen Fry et al., “Christening”, in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Season 1, Episode 5:
text: Promising to protect the welfare state while adding further obligations to its portfolio has become customary for SPD and Greens.
ref: 2024 August 18, Jörg Michael Dostal, “Left Conservatism: Sahra Wagenknecht's Challenge to the German Party System”, in The Political Quarterly, volume 95, number 4, →DOI, page 644 of 634–644:
topics: business
glosses: A collection of assets; (figurative) any collection of things considered as investments or assets, (rarely) also liabilities.
examples: text: product portfolio
glosses: A range of products.
Derived terms: e-portfolio
minister without portfolio
multiportfolio
nonportfolio
padfolio
portfolio career
portfolio frontier
portfolio worker
subportfolio
webfolio
Related terms: blad
curriculum vitae
repertoire