Etymologically
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pier

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English pere, inherited from Old English per (late Old English),[2][3][4] borrowed from Medieval Latin pera (“pier of a bridge”), a word of unknown origin.[5][6][7] The OED treats the whole etymology as uncertain: the Medieval Latin word is first attested in the Latin version of the very document in which the English word first appears.[8] Barnhart and Etymonline mention a possible source in Old French pire (“breakwater”) (Old North French), from Vulgar Latin *petricus, from Latin petra (“rock”),[9][5] and Klein and Skeat derived it from the Latin word,[3][10] but Etymonline notes that the OED is against this.[5] Weekley pointed out that the Picard and Walloon forms are found along the Scheldt and suggested a Germanic origin.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A structure supporting a span of a bridge: late Old English, before 1125, in a list of estates liable for work on Rochester Bridge.[8][9][12]

Semantic evolution

From the support of a bridge the word passed to other heavy supports.[8][12] From the mid-15th century it meant a solid structure built out into the sea to shelter a harbour and serve as a landing place (1453),[8][5][12] and in architecture, from the 17th century, a square pillar or the masonry between windows and doors.[8][12] Johnson (1755) knew only the columns on which the arch of a bridge is raised.[13] The modern seaside pier, a deck on piles used as a promenade, is a further extension of the landing-place sense,[14][2] and since 1957 an airport pier has been a long corridor leading to the boarding gates.[8]

Timeline

  • late Old English – support of a bridge span.[8][9]
  • 1453 – a structure projecting into the sea, protecting a harbour.[8][5]
  • 1613 – a pillar supporting an arch.[8]
  • 1663 – the wall between openings.[8]
  • 1857 – verb: to support with piers.[8]
  • 1957 – a passenger corridor at an airport.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A platform on piles built out over water, used as a landing place for boats or as a promenade.
  2. A pillar or other support carrying a heavy load, especially between the spans of a bridge.
  3. The section of a wall between two openings such as windows.
  4. A breakwater or mole protecting a harbour.

Word family

  • pierhead
  • pier glass
  • pier table

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  12. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins