Why “portance” is a great word
PORTANCE — [Noun] The manner in which one carries oneself; physical bearing or carriage. From Middle French portance ("a carrying, support"), from porter ("to carry"), from Latin portare ("to carry, bear, convey"). First attested in English 1580–90. Unlike "demeanor," which emphasizes outward expression of attitude, or "deportment," which implies a formal, tutored conduct, portance is the foundational architecture of the body in space—the unspoken grammar of the self. It is the weary slope of a farmer's shoulders at dusk, the ramrod spine of a sentry in the rain, and the loose-limbed saunter of one who owns the street. It is the body's own silent argument with the world, a testament written in bone and held before all.