quay

adj

1. Alternative spelling of qway (“far”).

adv

1. Alternative spelling of qway (“far”).

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: The current spelling replaced the spelling key in the 1690s to emulate the spelling but (at least originally) not the pronunciation of the equivalent modern French quai. From Middle English kay, key, kaye, keye, from Old French kay, cail, from Gaulish *kagyum, cagiíun (“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae (“field”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Doublet of hedge and hey (“choreographic figure”).

1. A stone or concrete structure on navigable water used for loading and unloading vessels; a wharf.

   “moor up in the quay”

   “[…] its harbour was filled with stately ships; and its quays, swarming with foreign traders and loaded with bales of costly merchandise[…]”

verb

Etymology: The current spelling replaced the spelling key in the 1690s to emulate the spelling but (at least originally) not the pronunciation of the equivalent modern French quai. From Middle English kay, key, kaye, keye, from Old French kay, cail, from Gaulish *kagyum, cagiíun (“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae (“field”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Doublet of hedge and hey (“choreographic figure”).

1. To land or tie up at a quay or similar structure, especially used in the phrase "quay up".