# quay

Pronunciation: say "KEE" /kiː/

## Noun

1. A stone or concrete structure built along navigable water for loading and unloading vessels.
   - Simple: A solid platform built at the water's edge where boats can stop to load and unload.
   - _Dockworkers unloaded the cargo onto the quay as cranes swung overhead._
   - _The ferry pulled alongside the stone quay and lowered its ramp._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To land or tie up a vessel at a quay or similar structure, often expressed as "quay up".

## 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."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/quay (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).