porte cochere, in Western architecture, either of two elements found in large public and private buildings, popular in the Renaissance. A porte cochere, as the French name indicates, was originally an entrance or gateway to a building large enough to permit a coach to be driven through it into the interior courtyard beyond. These gateways are common features of homes and palaces built during the reigns of Kings Louis XIV and XV of France.
Later, the term was applied to a porch roof built over a driveway at the entrance to a building (usually known as the carriage porch). This roof had to be large enough to accommodate a carriage or other wheeled vehicle, since its purpose was to provide shelter for those getting in or out of the vehicle.