Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Porte \Porte\, n. [F. porte a gate, L. porta. See {Port} a
   gate.]
   The Ottoman court; the government of the Turkish empire,
   officially called the {Sublime Porte}, from the gate (port)
   of the sultan's palace at which justice was administered.

Source : WordNet®

Sublime Porte
     n : the Ottoman court in Constantinople [syn: {Porte}]