Wharf

From Free net encyclopedia

For the company WharfSup in Hong Kong. See The Wharf (Holdings) Limited.

A wharf is a fixed platform, commonly on pilings, roughly parallel to and alongside navigable water, where ships are loaded and unloaded. The word comes from the Old English hwearf, meaning "heap," and its plural is either wharfs, or, especially in American English, wharves; collectively a group of these is referred to as wharfing or wharfage.

A popular, though false, belief is that wharf is an acronym of WareHouse At RiverFront.

In the northeast of England the term staithe (from the Norse for landing stage) is also used.

Well known wharves

Image:Wharf derby wharf salem massachussets.jpg

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