quay

/ki/

/ki/

Other forms: quays

You know that wharf on the bank of the river where all the boats park? It's not an aqua parking lot. It's called a quay.

When you visit France and take a walk beside the wharves where boats dock and unload passengers, you can say you've been strolling along the quays of the Seine. The English spelling of this word was originally key, and that's one way to pronounce it even today, an alternative to "qway." Quay comes from the Old North French cai, "sand bank."

Definitions of quay

1. noun

   wharf usually built parallel to the shoreline
   type of:

   dock, pier, wharf, wharfage

   a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats