quay

noun

ˈkē  ˈkā  ˈkwā 

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

Synonyms

• wharf
• dock
• pier

Examples of quay in a Sentence

docked the ferry at the quay to let the passengers off

Recent Examples on the Web

Seaports will have nearby seabed dredged and quays constructed to accommodate naval and transport vessels. —Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025

Then, as evening falls, locals gather with ice cream cones on the quay and the town glows in the hush of a Bornholm sunset. —Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025

One hundred twenty-five years later, on the same quay in Geneva, a theater troupe reenacts the event every Sunday. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025

The terminal operator International Transportation Service plans to fill in a 19-acre area of water and extend the existing quay by 560 feet, which would allow larger ships to dock at the port. —Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025

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