wharf

views updated May 14 2018

wharf / (h)wôrf/ • n. (pl. wharves / (h)wôrvz/ or wharfs) a level quayside area to which a ship may be moored to load and unload.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

wharf

views updated Jun 11 2018

wharf structure built along the water's edge. Late OE. hwearf, w(e)arf (earlier in poet. comp. merehwearf seashore), corr. to MLG. warf, werf mole, dam, wharf; f. Gmc. *χwerb-, *χwarb- repr. also by a series of vbs. having the meanings turn, change, wander, go.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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