quay

The current spelling replaced the spelling key in the 1690s to emulate the spelling but (at least originally) not the pronunciation of the equivalent modern French quai. From Middle English kay, key, kaye, keye, from Old French kay, cail, from Gaulish *kagyum, cagiíun (“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae (“hedge”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Doublet of hedge.

• cay

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kiː/ enPR: kē
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /keɪ/
• (US) enPR: kē, IPA^(key): /kiː/, /keɪ/, /kweɪ/

• Audio (UK)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -iː, -eɪ
• Homophone: key

quay (plural quays)

1. (nautical) A stone or concrete structure on navigable water used for loading and unloading vessels; a wharf.

   moor up in the quay

• Connah's Quay
• quayside
• Willington Quay

• → Scottish Gaelic: cidhe

quay (third-person singular simple present quays, present participle quaying, simple past and past participle quayed)

1. To land or tie up at a quay or similar structure, especially used in the phrase "quay up".

• dock; pier; float; cay; harbour, harbor; mole; riprap; wharf

quay (comparative quayer, superlative quayest)

1. (MLE) Alternative spelling of qway (“far”)

quay (comparative quayer, superlative quayest)

1. (MLE) Alternative spelling of qway (“far”)

• quay at OneLook Dictionary Search

• quya

From Proto-Vietic *kweː.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kwaj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kwaj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [waj˧˧]

quay • (𢵴 - 𨧰, 𨆠, 𢮿, 拐, 歪, 乖)

1. to turn; to revolve; to swivel
2. to whirl; to reverse; to turn back
3. to spit roast
4. (by extension) to film
5. (by extension, transitive) to dial (a phone number)

   quay số 9-1-1 ― to dial 9-1-1