Meaning of Sublime Porte | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The monumental portal at the Ottoman palace where the supreme tribunals were held; became the surname of the first palace in Bursa, transferred to the even grander Topkapı palace after the capital's transfer to Istanbul (the former Byzantine imperial capital Constantinople)
   literally
2. The Ottoman sultanic court, hence the imperial government, notably the vizierial divan and the entire empire, or a personage with a similar standing.
   figuratively

Equivalents

Examples

“He liked the pleasures of the table, and he liked attendance; he was a sort of Sublime Porte to his valets.”

CEFR level