Hypertext Webster Gateway: "wharf"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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}.]
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 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Wharf \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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
wharf
n : a platform built out from the shore into the water and
supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
[syn: {pier}, {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}]
5: moor at a wharf, of vessels; "The ship was wharfed"
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