wharf

wharf
    n 1: a platform built out from the shore into the water and
         supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
         [syn: {pier}, {wharf}, {wharfage}, {dock}]
    v 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}, {wharf}]
    5: moor at a wharf; "The ship was wharfed"
    

Wharf \Wharf\, n.; 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}.]
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   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.
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            Commerce pushes its wharves into the sea.
                                                  --Bancroft.
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            Out upon the wharfs they came,
            Knight and burgher, lord and dame.    --Tennyson.
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   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.
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   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.
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   {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}. (Zool.)
      (a) The common brown rat.
      (b) A neglected boy who lives around the wharfs. [Slang]
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Wharf \Wharf\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wharfed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Wharfing}.]
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   1. To guard or secure by a firm wall of timber or stone
      constructed like a wharf; to furnish with a wharf or
      wharfs.
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   2. To place upon a wharf; to bring to a wharf.
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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