1690–1700; spelling variant (after French quai ) of earlier kay (also key, whence the modern pronunciation) < Old French kay, cay; akin to Spanish cayo shoal. See key 2
You know that wharf on the bank of the river where all the boats park? It's not an aqua parking lot. It's called a quay. When you visit France and take a walk beside the wharves where boats dock and unload passengers, you can say you've been strolling along the quays of the Seine. The English spelling of this word was originally key, and that's one way to pronounce it even today, an alternative to "qway." Quay comes from the Old North French cai, "sand bank."
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On the DLR there will be no service between Bank and Tower Gateway and from Poplar to West India Quay between Good Friday and 8 April.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
He doesn’t even know how to treat the cops who are his new guards, amusingly portrayed as a comedy-act trio who finish one another’s sentences by Ethan Dubin, Katie Kreisler and Dave Quay.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
A spokesperson for Mermaid Quay confirmed it was exploring the possibility of a new plaque for Ianto once maintenance work had been completed.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
She has also travelled from her home in Mold, Flintshire, to visit the social club with friends, saying it was refreshing that Barlow is still "fondly thought of" in Connah's Quay.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026
One telegram is addressed to Mrs. Clohessy of Arthur’s Quay and that couldn’t be anyone but Paddy’s mother.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
