pier
UK /pɪə/ · US /pɪɹ/ noun
Forms piers
- noun A raised platform built from the shore out over water, supported on piles; used to secure, or provide access to shipping; a jetty. “Your boat is docked at the pier.”
- noun A similar structure, especially at a seaside resort, used to provide entertainment. “There is a gaming arcade on the pier.”
- noun A structure supporting the junction between two spans of a bridge.
- noun (architecture) A rectangular pillar, or similar structure, that supports an arch, wall or roof, or the hinges of a gate.
- noun (aviation) A long corridor-like building with multiple gates extending from an airport terminal.
Synonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English pere (“bridge pillar, breakwater”), from either Anglo-Norman pere (“stone”, from Latin petra) or Old French *piere (Old Northern French pire, from either Late Latin *petricus or pēra "satchel"); compare Medieval Latin pira.
Webster’s 1913
- noun (a) Any detached mass of masonry, whether insulated or supporting one side of an arch or lintel, as of a bridge; the piece of wall between two openings.
- noun A projecting wharf or landing place. Abutment pier, the pier of a bridge next the shore; a pier which by its strength and stability resists the thrust of an arch.
Etymology [OE. pere, OF. piere a stone, F. pierre, fr. L. petra, Gr. Petrify.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pier”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details