quay
[ kee, key, kwey ]
/ ki, keɪ, kweɪ /
noun
a landing place, especially one of solid masonry, constructed along the edge of a body of water; wharf.
Nearby words
Origin of quay
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 key2
Related formsquay·like, adjective
Definition for quay (2 of 2)
Quay
[ kwey ]
/ kweɪ /
noun
Matthew Stanley,1833–1904, U.S. politician: senator 1887–99, 1901–4.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for quay
British Dictionary definitions for quay
Word Origin for quay
C14 keye, from Old French kai, of Celtic origin; compare Cornish kē hedge, fence, Old Breton cai fence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for quay
quay
1690s, variant of Middle English key, keye, caye "wharf" (c.1300; mid-13c. in place names), from Old North French cai (Old French chai, 12c., Modern French quai) "sand bank," from Gaulish caium (5c.), from Old Celtic *kagio- "to encompass, enclose" (cf. Welsh cae "fence, hedge," Cornish ke "hedge"), from PIE *kagh- "to catch, seize; wickerwork, fence" (see hedge (n.)). Spelling altered in English by influence of French quai.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper