What does "wharf" mean?
Wharf: Etym: [AS. hwearf.] The bank of a river, or the shore of the sea. [Obs.] "The fat weed that roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf." Shak. Wharf boat, a kind of boat moored at the bank of a river, and used for a wharf, in places where the height of the water is so variable that a fixed wharf would be useless. [U. S.] Bartlett. -- Wharf rat. (Zoöl.) (a) The common brown rat. (b) A neglected boy who lives around the wharfs. [Slang]
Additional senses
- 2.To guard or secure by a firm wall of timber or stone constructed like a wharf; to furnish with a wharf or wharfs.
- 3.To place upon a wharf; to bring to a wharf.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00