WHARF

noun (plural wharves; also ~s) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwearf embankment, ~; akin to Old English hweorfan to turn, Old High German hwerban, Greek karpos wrist Date: before 12th century a structure built along or at an angle from the shore of navigable waters so that ships may lie alongside to receive and discharge cargo and passengers, the bank of a river or the shore of the sea