wharves
- a plural of wharf.
wharf
- a structure built on the shore of or projecting into a harbor, stream, etc., so that vessels may be moored alongside to load or unload or to lie at rest; quay; pier.
- Obsolete.
- a riverbank.
- the shore of the sea.
- to provide with a wharf or wharves.
- to place or store on a wharf: The schedule allowed little time to wharf the cargo.
- to accommodate at or bring to a wharf: The new structure will wharf several vessels.
- to tie up at a wharf; dock: The ship wharfed in the early morning.
Origin of wharf
wharve
- Spinning. a wheel or round piece of wood on a spindle, serving as a flywheel or as a pulley.
Origin of wharve
Examples from the Web for wharves
Historical Examples of wharves
And drawing lazily on his cigar Dillon was watching a new line of wharves.
The HarborErnest Poole
The cabman druv 'im to somewhere on South Street, by the wharves.
The Mystery of Murray DavenportRobert Neilson Stephens
Most of this is now a thing of the past and the dredges lie rotting at the wharves.
The Negro FarmerCarl Kelsey
He had been down to the wharves since early in the morning, seeking for employment.
The Cash BoyHoratio Alger Jr.
Think of the great wide flowing river with its wharves and its boats.
Where We LiveEmilie Van Beil Jacobs
wharf
- a platform of timber, stone, concrete, etc, built parallel to the waterfront at a harbour or navigable river for the docking, loading, and unloading of ships
- the wharves NZ the working area of a dock
- an obsolete word for shore 1
- to moor or dock at a wharf
- to provide or equip with a wharf or wharves
- to store or unload on a wharf
Word Origin for wharf
wharve
- a wooden disc or wheel on a shaft serving as a flywheel or pulley
Word Origin for wharve
Word Origin and History for wharves
wharf
late Old English hwearf "shore, bank where ships can tie up," earlier "dam, embankment," from Proto-Germanic *khwarfaz (cf. Middle Low German werf "mole, dam, wharf," German Werft "shipyard, dockyard"); related to Old English hwearfian "to turn," perhaps in a sense implying "busy activity," from PIE root *kwerp- "to turn, revolve" (cf. Old Norse hverfa "to turn round," German werben "to enlist, solicit, court, woo," Gothic hvairban "to wander," Greek kartos "wrist," Sanskrit surpam "winnowing fan"). Wharf rat "person who hangs around docks" is recorded from 1836.