quay

noun

ˈkē  ˈkā  ˈkwā 

: a structure built parallel to the bank of a waterway for use as a landing place

Synonyms

• dock
• float
• jetty
• landing
• levee
• pier
• quai
• wharf

Examples of quay in a Sentence

docked the ferry at the quay to let the passengers off

Recent Examples on the Web

While many of the street-side cafes lining the river are on the touristy side, the handful of spots actually on the quay are anything but. —Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 19 Apr. 2025

The Romans established Londinium just north of the river’s marshy valley after invading Britain in 43 C.E. Colossal wooden quays stood on the ancient settlement’s riverbank. —Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Apr. 2025

On a dank quay beneath Paris’s Pont Alexandre III, a beauty moment of epic proportions was born. —Jessica Diner, Vogue, 23 Jan. 2025

But security and logistical concerns — and an outcry from booksellers along the city’s picturesque quays — have led the government to progressively scale back its ambitions. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English keye, kaye, borrowed from Anglo-French kay, caye, keye, corresponding to Middle French (Picardy) kay, going back to Gaulish *kagi̯o- (late Gaulish caio) "enclosure," going back to Celtic — more at haw entry 1

Note: The spelling quay, first appearing in the sixteenth century, follows modern French. As noted by the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, the expected outcome of Middle English keye would be /keɪ/ in Modern English. — The form caio, glossed "breialo sive bigardio" (meaning perhaps "demarcated field or wood"), is found in Endlicher's Glossary, a collection of words dated in its earliest version to the eighth century that were taken by the glossator to be of Gaulish origin (and hence entitled "De nominibus Gallicis"). Compare also cai, glossed cancelli "latticed barrier" in Late Latin texts (see Thesaurus linguae Latinae s.v.). In Normandy and Picardy, from where kay spread to France generally, the original reference was perhaps to a barrier demarcating part of a seashore or river bank that was built up with stone or earth to make a loading area for boats. The corresponding word in Poitou was chai.

First Known Use

1561, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quay

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy

Kids Definition

quay

noun

ˈkē  ˈk(w)ā 

: a structure built along the bank of a waterway for use as a landing place