means A covered structure attached to the front or entrance of a building, often open or partly enclosed, where you can sit, shelter, or greet visitors.

from From Old French 'porche,' descending from Latin 'porticus' (a covered colonnade or gallery), built on 'porta,' meaning gate or entrance. So a porch is, at root, a 'doorway dressed up' — the same Latin 'porta' that gives us 'portal' and 'port.' The threshold idea is baked right into the bricks.