PIER

noun Etymology: Middle English per, from Old English, from Medieval Latin pera Date: 12th century an intermediate support for the adjacent ends of two bridge spans, a structure (as a breakwater) extending into navigable water for use as a landing place or promenade or to protect or form a harbor, a vertical structural support: as, the wall between two openings, pillar , pilaster , a vertical member that supports the end of an arch or lintel, an auxiliary mass of masonry used to stiffen a wall, a structural mount (as for a telescope) usually of stonework, concrete, or steel