WHARFS

Noun

wharfs

plural of wharf

Source: Wiktionary


WHARF

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. hwaírban, 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.

WHARF

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. hwaírban, 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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30 January 2025

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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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