English Explanatory Dictionary

quay

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A stone or concrete structure on navigable water used for loading and unloading vessels; a wharf.
verb
  1. To land or tie up at a quay or similar structure, especially used in the phrase "quay up".
adj
  1. Alternative spelling of qway (“far”).
adv
  1. Alternative spelling of qway (“far”).
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

kē /kiː/ /keɪ/ /kweɪ/ En-us-quay.ogg En-au-quay.ogg

Word forms

quay quays cay quaying quayed quayer quayest

Etymology

The current spelling replaced the spelling key in the 1690s to emulate the spelling but (at least originally) not the pronunciation of the equivalent modern French quai. From Middle English kay, key, kaye, keye, from Old French kay, cail, from Gaulish *kagyum, cagiíun (“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae (“field”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Doublet of hedge and hey (“choreographic figure”).

Related words

dock pier float cay harbour harbor mole riprap wharf

Derived words

Connah's Quay New Quay Newquay quayage quayful quaylike quayman quaymaster quayside quayward quaywards Torquay Willington Quay Quay County
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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