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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Wharf \Wharf\, noun; pl. {Wharfs}or {Wharves}. [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. hwa['i]rban, hwarb[=o]n, 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. [AS. hwearf.] 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}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The common brown rat. (b) A neglected boy who lives around the wharfs. [Slang]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Wharf \Wharf\, verb (used with an object) [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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
wharf
noun: a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats [syn: {pier}, {wharfage}, {dock}]
verb
1: provide with a wharf; "Wharf the mouth of the river"
2: store on a wharf; "Wharf the merchandise"
3: discharge at a wharf; "wharf the passengers"
4: come into or dock at a wharf; "the big ship wharfed in the evening" [syn: {moor}, {berth}]
5: moor at a wharf; "The ship was wharfed" [also: {wharves} (pl)]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
35 Moby Thesaurus words for "wharf": anchorage, anchorage ground, basin, berth, breakwater, bulkhead, dock, dockage, dockyard, dry dock, embankment, groin, harbor, harborage, haven, jetty, jutty, landing, landing place, landing stage, levee, marina, mole, moorings, pier, port, protected anchorage, quay, road, roads, roadstead, seaport, seawall, shipyard, slip
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