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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 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 WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
wharves See {wharf}
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |