*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of 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

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

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

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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 (“field”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Doublet of hedge and hey (“choreographic figure”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Cognate mentionquaifr
  • Inherited-form mentionkayenm
  • Derivation mentionkayfro
  • Derivation mention*kagyumcel-gau
  • Derivation mention*kagyomcel-pro
  • Cognate mentioncaecy
  • Derivation mention*kagʰyómine-pro
  • Doublet mentionhedgeen
  • Doublet mentionheyen · choreographic figure
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "quai"
      },
      "expansion": "French quai"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kay"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kay"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "kay"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French kay"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cel-gau",
        "3": "*kagyum"
      },
      "expansion": "Gaulish *kagyum"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cel-pro",
        "3": "*kagyom",
        "4": "",
        "5": "pen, enclosure"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "cae",
        "3": "",
        "4": "field"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh cae (“field”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kagʰyóm",
        "4": "",
        "5": "enclosure"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hedge",
        "3": "hey",
        "id2": "dance",
        "t2": "choreographic figure"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of hedge and hey (“choreographic figure”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "quai",
      "quai#French"
    ],
    [
      "kay",
      "kay#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "key",
      "key#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kaye",
      "kaye#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "keye",
      "keye#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kay",
      "kay#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "cail",
      "cail#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*kagyum",
      "Reconstruction:Gaulish/kagyum"
    ],
    [
      "cagiíun",
      "cagiíun#Gaulish"
    ],
    [
      "*kagyom",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/kagyom"
    ],
    [
      "cae",
      "cae#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "*kagʰyóm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kagʰyóm"
    ],
    [
      "hedge",
      "hedge#English"
    ],
    [
      "hey",
      "hey#English:_dance"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To land or tie up at a quay or similar structure, especially used in the phrase \"quay up\"."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "c1c04d00ca5767cb233ca528b3490e01644038f8fbe8cea8afd2f99b12117e83",
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    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

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

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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 (“field”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Doublet of hedge and hey (“choreographic figure”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Cognate mentionquaifr
  • Inherited-form mentionkayenm
  • Derivation mentionkayfro
  • Derivation mention*kagyumcel-gau
  • Derivation mention*kagyomcel-pro
  • Cognate mentioncaecy
  • Derivation mention*kagʰyómine-pro
  • Doublet mentionhedgeen
  • Doublet mentionheyen · choreographic figure
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "quai"
      },
      "expansion": "French quai"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kay"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kay"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "kay"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French kay"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cel-gau",
        "3": "*kagyum"
      },
      "expansion": "Gaulish *kagyum"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cel-pro",
        "3": "*kagyom",
        "4": "",
        "5": "pen, enclosure"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "cae",
        "3": "",
        "4": "field"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh cae (“field”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kagʰyóm",
        "4": "",
        "5": "enclosure"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hedge",
        "3": "hey",
        "id2": "dance",
        "t2": "choreographic figure"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of hedge and hey (“choreographic figure”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "quai",
      "quai#French"
    ],
    [
      "kay",
      "kay#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "key",
      "key#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kaye",
      "kaye#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "keye",
      "keye#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kay",
      "kay#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "cail",
      "cail#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*kagyum",
      "Reconstruction:Gaulish/kagyum"
    ],
    [
      "cagiíun",
      "cagiíun#Gaulish"
    ],
    [
      "*kagyom",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/kagyom"
    ],
    [
      "cae",
      "cae#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "*kagʰyóm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kagʰyóm"
    ],
    [
      "hedge",
      "hedge#English"
    ],
    [
      "hey",
      "hey#English:_dance"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "word": "кей",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "kej"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "lang_code": "mk",
      "word": "кеј",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "kej"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "lang_code": "gd",
      "word": "cidhe",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "word": "кеј",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "word": "kej",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A stone or concrete structure on navigable water used for loading and unloading vessels; a wharf."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "d19c1fd4ecf6e701755be2a8750e849312f283cd387558f471ac1c6e940352e2",
      "rawRecordSha256": "efe6dd912fc4d3f1400121e9b4f786e1ae88e198d5b0043274dc46756f40f41f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 202765
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for quay →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cXVheQ