DictionaryAI

quay

KEE/kiː/

Pluralquays

2 meanings of quay

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A stone or concrete structure built along navigable water for loading and unloading vessels.

    Dockworkers unloaded the cargo onto the quay as cranes swung overhead.

    The ferry pulled alongside the stone quay and lowered its ramp.

    UsageSounds like key, despite the spelling. Boats tie up at or alongside the quay.

    Similarwharf, dock, pier, jetty, landing

    Note

    The spelling hides the sound. Until the 1690s the word was written key, and quay was adopted to look like modern French quai, while the old pronunciation, like key, stayed. In F. D. Morice's Pindar (1879), a harbor's quays are "swarming with foreign traders and loaded with bales of costly merchandise." That is the working waterfront this word names.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The spelling quay replaced key in the 1690s under the influence of modern French quai, while retaining the pronunciation like key. en.wiktionary.org
    • F. D. Morice wrote Pindar, first published in 1879. en.wikisource.org
    • Morice describes quays using the exact quoted words. en.wikisource.org

Less common meaning

  1. 2
    verbrare
    To land or tie up a vessel at a quay or similar structure, often expressed as "quay up".

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Origin

The modern spelling replaced "key" in the 1690s to imitate the spelling (though not originally the pronunciation) of French "quai." It comes from Middle English "kay, key," from Old French "kay, cail," from Gaulish *kagyum ("enclosure"), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom ("pen, enclosure"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm ("enclosure"). It is a doublet of "hedge."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

  • The modern spelling replaced key in the 1690s, imitating French quai's spelling but not originally its pronunciation. en.wiktionary.org
  • Quay derives from Middle English kay and key. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Middle English word derives from Old French kay and cail. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Old French word derives from reconstructed Gaulish *kagyum, meaning enclosure. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Gaulish word derives from Proto-Celtic *kagyom, meaning pen or enclosure. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Proto-Celtic word derives from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm, meaning enclosure. en.wiktionary.org
  • Quay and hedge are doublets. en.wiktionary.org