WHARF

pier, wharf, wharfage, dock

(noun) a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats

wharf

(verb) moor at a wharf; “The ship was wharfed”

moor, berth, wharf

(verb) come into or dock at a wharf; “the big ship wharfed in the evening”

wharf

(verb) discharge at a wharf; “wharf the passengers”

wharf

(verb) store on a wharf; “Wharf the merchandise”

wharf

(verb) provide with a wharf; “Wharf the mouth of the river”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

wharf (plural wharves or wharfs)

A man-made landing place for ships on a shore or river bank.

The bank of a river, or the shore of the sea.

Synonyms

• (landing place): dock; quay

Hyponyms

• (landing place): jetty; pier; staithe, staith (Northern England)

Verb

wharf (third-person singular simple present wharfs, present participle wharfing, simple past and past participle wharfed)

(transitive) To secure by a wharf.

(transitive) To place on a wharf.

Source: Wiktionary


Wharf, n.; pl. Wharfs or Wharves. Etym: [AS. hwerf, hwearf, a returning, a change, from hweorfan to turn, turn about, go about; akin to D. werf a wharf, G. werft, Sw. varf a shipbuilder's yard, Dan. verft wharf, dockyard, G. werben to enlist, to engage, woo, OHG. werban to turn about, go about, be active or occupied, Icel. hverfa to turn, Goth. hwaĂ­rban, hwarbon, to walk. Cf. Whirl.]

1. A structure or platform of timber, masonry, iron, earth, or other material, built on the shore of a harbor, river, canal, or the like, and usually extending from the shore to deep water, so that vessels may lie close alongside to receive and discharge cargo, passengers, etc.; a quay; a pier. Commerce pushes its wharves into the sea. Bancroft. Out upon the wharfs they came, Knight and burgher, lord and dame. Tennyson.

Note: The plural of this word is generally written wharves in the United States, and wharfs in England; but many recent English writers use wharves.

2. Etym: [AS. hwearf.]

Definition: The bank of a river, or the shore of the sea. [Obs.] "The fat weed that roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf." Shak. Wharf boat, a kind of boat moored at the bank of a river, and used for a wharf, in places where the height of the water is so variable that a fixed wharf would be useless. [U. S.] Bartlett.

– Wharf rat. (Zoöl.) (a) The common brown rat. (b) A neglected boy who lives around the wharfs. [Slang]

Wharf, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wharfed; p. pr. & vb. n. Wharfing.]

1. To guard or secure by a firm wall of timber or stone constructed like a wharf; to furnish with a wharf or wharfs.

2. To place upon a wharf; to bring to a wharf.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, coffee beans are not technically beans. They are referred to as such because of their resemblance to legumes. A coffee bean is a seed of the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit, often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit.

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