Talk:Wharf

similar to dock, but specific to the land side where dock usually refers to the ships side.

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I don't agree. Docks can be the water, or the enclosure of the water or a pier or a wharf. Wharves are subsets or parts of docks.

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where are wharfs seen in stories? What makes a wharf different from a dock?

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can someone, an engineer or what so ever, tell me what is wharf actually all about? and what are the survey data to be collected in its constructing a wharf at first place...

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Wharves are seen in the more peurile detective novels like the Hardy boys or Nancy Drew books.

In fact it seems to be a iron law that any visit to a wharf will be in the fog and will result in being soaked over the head with a pipe. This is the famous Sappier Wharf hypothesis.

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Did anyone know that WHARF stands for WhareHouse At River Front? Jon.

I discovered that wharf was standing for WareHouse At River Front when visiting London Docklands. Added it in the article. Not sure about Warehouse spelling. Is that Ware or Whare? Thom Does anyone else think there should be a reference to this Backronym? Bob.

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This premise that wharf is an acronym is about as false as similar premises for fuck, posh etc. Nearly all acronyms are of extremely modern origin.

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A connection with the Dutch word 'werf' (roughly translated as 'shipyard') is likely.

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My dictionary says: "Late Old English hwearf bank, shore; related to hweorfan to turn"

Grendlegrutch 09:42, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

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The picture shown with this article seems to show something sticking out into water like a pier, but the article says wharfs are supposed to be parallel not perpendicular to the water. Maybe a clearer picture is needed.

distinction between wharf + pier

I think the difference is in construction in that a pier is a platform above the water whereas a wharf is an embankment that displaces the water. I dont the the parallel/ perpendicular thing is right: for one thing the picture in the article shows a wharf perpendicular to the shore, also Merriam-Webster's definition says "a structure built along or at an angle from the shore...." 1 Insist it persists 20:56, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Wharf or quay?

Can somebody explain the difference (if any) between a wharf and a quay? Please, I need to know! 213.7.8.71 09:07, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Wharf / pier / quay

The observation that "a pier is a platform above the water whereas a wharf is an embankment that displaces the water" sounds right. However, a quay is also a solid structure that displaces the water. Perhaps the perpendicular/horizontal distinction applies to wharf/quay. But which is which? Grendlegrutch 09:35, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Pier seems to be current in the US, the port of New York refers to its berthing structures as piers. Pier in the UK is primarily a place of recreation and/or entertainment, although in construction it is similar to a jetty. The word Pier has been adopted into Dutch in the UK sense in Belgium, and in the wider sense of jetty and UK pier in Holland. Quay (quai in French and kaai in Dutch) seems to be applicable to most solid structures. When I was at sea (40 years ago) the word dock was used to refer to both quays, the water, the dock wall and everything else. With so few English natives at sea nowadays I would not be surprised if this usage had declined. Europe's largest ports (Rotterdam and Antwerp)refer to each individual berths as a "kaai" with a separate quay number. With respect to the etymology of wharf, the "wh" spelling would seem to suggest an OE "hw" origin. The word "werf" in Dutch is almost certainly related, even though "werf" in modern Dutch means "site" or "(ship)yard". The name Antwerpen is probably linked to this meaning, where the word "werf" is thought to have meant a projection of land into a river, or "spit". Augusta2 (talk) 00:55, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

WareHouse At River Front

Although of course it is backronymic, maybe this is right after all: a quay is simply a solid platform, while a wharf is a quay + warehouses and other ancillary structures. Yes/no?

Wharf / Staithe

better description of Staithe at www.swanseahistoryweb.org.uk/cardiff/butewd/dckdef.htm

"# Staithes are the structures used to transfer coal from the wharf or dock to the ship. They were usually built on the sides of rivers and had ramps to slide coal into the ships or barges. They were usually temporary structures made of wood. They could be of many different designs but they all did the same basic job. The picture below shows coal staithes on the River Tawe near Swansea."

Basically wharves are parallel to the shore, while staithes are a chute or ramp perpendicular to the shore.

Which means they are not wharves at all, though you could have a number of staithes on a wharf, and a number of wharves making up a dock.