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Definition of the word 'Wharf'


Steve King

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Listening to Simon Mayo (sitting in for Chris Evans) on Radio 2 yesterday a listener contributed to the 'things you learnt for the first time today'. He claimed that the word 'wharf' is derived from 'warehouse, river front'. I'd never heard that before but on the face of it, it seems reasonable.

 

AskOxford.com gives:

wharf

/wawrf/

• noun (pl. wharves or wharfs) a level quayside area to which a ship may be moored to load and unload.

— ORIGIN Old English.

(see http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/wharf?view=uk)

 

And the 'FreeDictionary(by Farlex)' gives:

A structure built of open rather than solid construction along a shore or a bank that provides cargo-handling facilities. A similar facility of solid construction is called a quay. See also quay.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

 

I had not been aware of the distinction between open and closed construction, but then I would have been hard pressed to differentiate between a wharf and a quay. An open construction might be termed a jetty too. Perhaps a wharf might be found on inland waters, viz a canal or river, whereas a quay would be on a tidal river or a sea harbour? Having said that, I can think of several inland 'quays', albeit ones so-named in the last twenty or so years, and perhaps then incorrectly designated.

 

Definitive answer anyone?

 

 

Steve

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Old English for Embankment was my understanding.

 

I sat next to Simon Mayo at a mutual friend's wedding reception, once. Two hours of my life completely wasted.

 

 

Edited to say: A quick google gives:

Etymology

 

The word comes from the Old English hwearf, meaning "bank" or "shore", and its plural is either wharfs, or, especially in American English, wharves; collectively a group of these is referred to as a wharfing or wharfage. "Wharfage" also refers to a fee ports impose on ships against the amount of cargo handled there.

Edited by carlt
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One problem is though that it's use hasn't been entirely consistent, some railways had "wharfs", there is a wharf road in Box, Wiltshire that leads to the railway. It sometimes seems to have just referred to an area where loading and unloading would occur, and if your a carter sent to collect goods, it probably makes no difference to you whether it's from a boat, a train or another cart.

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I seem to vaguely remember there was a book/tv prog (very vague LOL) that debunked most of the proposed acronym derivations of words, mainly because the use of acronyms is a fairly modern trend and most of the words have been around far longer .... "posh", "ok", even "f**k" .... "wharf" seems to have been around long enough to pre-date the acronym trend .. as opposed to say "scuba" which (I hope) is definitely an acronym :lol:

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Listening to Simon Mayo (sitting in for Chris Evans) on Radio 2 yesterday a listener contributed to the 'things you learnt for the first time today'. He claimed that the word 'wharf' is derived from 'warehouse, river front'. I'd never heard that before but on the face of it, it seems reasonable.

 

AskOxford.com gives:

wharf

/wawrf/

• noun (pl. wharves or wharfs) a level quayside area to which a ship may be moored to load and unload.

— ORIGIN Old English.

(see http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/wharf?view=uk)

 

And the 'FreeDictionary(by Farlex)' gives:

A structure built of open rather than solid construction along a shore or a bank that provides cargo-handling facilities. A similar facility of solid construction is called a quay. See also quay.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

 

I had not been aware of the distinction between open and closed construction, but then I would have been hard pressed to differentiate between a wharf and a quay. An open construction might be termed a jetty too. Perhaps a wharf might be found on inland waters, viz a canal or river, whereas a quay would be on a tidal river or a sea harbour? Having said that, I can think of several inland 'quays', albeit ones so-named in the last twenty or so years, and perhaps then incorrectly designated.

 

Definitive answer anyone?

 

 

Steve

Isn't a jetty something that extends out over the water? Which is different to a pier :lol:

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posh = was supposedly from port out starboard home (from P&O's steamer glory days ) ... but it WASN'T ... the word has been around longer .. as for "f**k" .... I'll leave that one where it is :lol:

 

well posh is the other way round, it's used as an pneumonic to remember which side the red umm green no no red lights are when going up or down river.

 

as for your other word;

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the ultimate etymology is uncertain, but that the word is "probably cognate" with a number of native Germanic words with meanings involving striking, rubbing, and having sex.[1]

 

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Ooooh – word games!

 

Seeking clear definitions of words can be rewarding and frustrating – just like the loss of nine tenths of my previous reply courtesy of Windows – Grrrrrr! All gone!

 

Second attempt:

 

So many of our words that we use in everyday language have their origins in another language, and in that original language may mean something similar, or - very different. The description of the word 'wharf' as an acronym is quite unsubstantiated, as it has its origins in the Old English hwearf, meaning "bank" or "shore". Any connection to warehouse river front, or even rail front is a modern habit of seeking acronyms from words, though 'POSH' fits well with travel on an east Indiaman or P&O steamer bound for the Cape and beyond, it is also stated to have come from the Romany. Never heard it applied to navigation lights. 'SCUBA' is purely Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus – created from the words, and not 'by' them.

 

In the northeast and east of England the term staithe or staith is used (from the Norse for landing stage). Another explanation may be that the word 'wharf' comes, like a lot of naval terms, from the dutch word "werf" which means 'yard', an outdoor place where work is done, like a shipyard or a timberyard.

 

Coal staithes:

 

http://www.dmm-gallery.org.uk/gallery/0004-000.htm

 

Coal staithes could also be found in most railway goods yards, and small coal yards throughout the Country, usually made from railway sleepers into which the various grades of coal were kept (I have a book on buildings made from railway sleepers, mostly in the Scottish Highlands. But I digress.)

 

In using the word 'structure', it is easy to fall into believing such to be a building - open or closed – and indeed it could be so, but also is true that a structure be of a solid material to enable loading and unloading onto a flat surface, this surface may have the name wharf, quay or jetty.

 

Quay; Middle English key, kay from Old French chai, cay, from Gaulish caio, rampart, retaining wall.

 

Jetty; a pier, groyne, mole or other structure extending out over a body of water. However, Middle English has jette, from the Old French jetee, a jutting, projection – such as the upper floors of Tudor buildings over the street on 'jetties' – jetee from the feminine past participle of jeter, to throw, project – from which we also get the word jet as in engine.

 

Many and varied are the meanings of words, so much so, that at times a grunt or a smack on the head with a club might serve more definitively.

 

Derek

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have a look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym

 

The L&L has a 'staithe' or two at Crooke, they are raised up areas for tipping into boats, most of the loading/unloading places are called wharfs, just a cobbled area next to the canal on a level with the towpath. No idea if that is the difference between a staithe and a wharf on the L&L.

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have a look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym

 

The L&L has a 'staithe' or two at Crooke, they are raised up areas for tipping into boats, most of the loading/unloading places are called wharfs, just a cobbled area next to the canal on a level with the towpath. No idea if that is the difference between a staithe and a wharf on the L&L.

I have a copy of a L&LC book from c1820 which includes a list of all the coal staithes on the canal, with non-coal sites often just called a yard. Perhaps a staith was specifically for coal, with a yard or wharf for other goods. The 1826 canal survey shows pier heads at Crooke on the towpath side and wharfs on the village side of the canal. By the canal's 1887 survey, the pier heads at Crooke had been replaced by a coal tip.

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Coal Staithe is also railway term particularly used by railways in the north of england when applied to a coal drop or transfer point between rail and road - so perhaps offloading place would be a good definition.

 

I would be interested to know how and why the person in charge of a wharf came to be known as a Wharfinger ?

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I've worked in many 'factory' like places where lorries are loaded and unloaded at the loading dock. Nowhere near river canal or sea!

We used to refer to the loading area at our warehouse as the "Loading Bay" another watery term for somewhere nowhere near the sea.

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the tthe place i used to work had a loading bay and an upper and lower deck area.when it rained the flat roof ensured that the bay was flooded so deck was useful and somewhat apt.This country has had so many invaders language and otherwise that some places have very odd names,they found out that one place was called hill hill upon the hill,each successive people settling the land simply added the word hill to the existing name

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This country has had so many invaders language and otherwise that some places have very odd names,they found out that one place was called hill hill upon the hill,each successive people settling the land simply added the word hill to the existing name

 

There is a place in West Sussex called "Titty Hill" reached by going via "Queen's End Corner ".

 

I am not even going to hazard a guess as to why so named :lol:

Edited by Hobbler
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wharf

 

 

Definitive answer anyone?

 

I have spent considerable time (while the adverts were on during the cycling) researching this and I think the most convincing explanation is that the word wharf is a mis-spelling of Worf, the name of the Klingon officer of the USS Enterprise.

 

In Life on the Mississippi Ch. 4 Mark Twain writes:

two or three lonely little freight piles scattered about the 'levee;' a pile of 'skids' on the slope of the stone-paved wharf, and the fragrant town drunkard asleep in the shadow of them; two or three wood flats at the head of the wharf,

 

By careful research on the internet, in particular www.StarTrek.com., I have established that Mark Twain met one of Worf's colleagues, Commander Data, in C19th San Fransicsco, so it is likely he first heard the word on this occasion and remembered it, later to apply it to this previously un-named waterside feature of the Mississippi river.

 

It's a wonderful research tool this internet thing isn't it?

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There is a place in West Sussex called "Titty Hill" reached by going via "Queen's End Corner ".

 

I am not even going to hazard a guess as to why so named :lol:

 

The same as the Paps of Jura?

 

jura1.jpg

 

Wonder why they are called that....

 

Richard

Edited by RLWP
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The same as the Paps of Jura?

 

jura1.jpg

 

Wonder why they are called that....

 

Richard

 

Paps = a nipple like hill or peak. Jura is Norse for Deer Island. Three Paps on Jura, all round 2,400ft in height. Won't find a wharf up there.

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I have spent considerable time (while the adverts were on during the cycling) researching this and I think the most convincing explanation is that the word wharf is a mis-spelling of Worf, the name of the Klingon officer of the USS Enterprise.

 

In Life on the Mississippi Ch. 4 Mark Twain writes:

 

By careful research on the internet, in particular www.StarTrek.com., I have established that Mark Twain met one of Worf's colleagues, Commander Data, in C19th San Fransicsco, so it is likely he first heard the word on this occasion and remembered it, later to apply it to this previously un-named waterside feature of the Mississippi river.

 

It's a wonderful research tool this internet thing isn't it?

 

Best post in ages, Ive been a little under the weather recently but this has made me really smile. Thank you.

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Paps = a nipple like hill or peak. Jura is Norse for Deer Island. Three Paps on Jura, all round 2,400ft in height. Won't find a wharf up there.

 

I see my sense of humour doesn't work well on the internet.

 

Richard

 

Want to try any of these? click

 

Hmm. I see Nobber is in County Donegal.

Edited by RLWP
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