pier English · revision 39425

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=late Old English}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /pɪə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /pɪɹ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|pere]], [[inh|ang|per]] (late Old English),^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016) [[bor|la-med|pera|t=pier of a bridge]], a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(ODE 2010)^(SOED 2002) 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.^(OED 2026) Barnhart and Etymonline mention a possible source in [[fro|pire|t=breakwater]] (Old North French), from [[la-vul|*petricus]], from [[la|petra|t=rock]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and Klein and Skeat derived it from the Latin word,^(Klein 1966)^(Skeat 1911) but Etymonline notes that the OED is against this.^(Etymonline) Weekley pointed out that the Picard and Walloon forms are found along the Scheldt and suggested a Germanic origin.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the support of a bridge the word passed to other heavy supports.^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) 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),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and in architecture, from the 17th century, a square pillar or the masonry between windows and doors.^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) Johnson (1755) knew only the columns on which the arch of a bridge is raised.^(Johnson 1755) The modern seaside pier, a deck on piles used as a promenade, is a further extension of the landing-place sense,^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024) and since 1957 an airport ''pier'' has been a long corridor leading to the boarding gates.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late Old English – support of a bridge span.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1453 – a structure projecting into the sea, protecting a harbour.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1613 – a pillar supporting an arch.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1663 – the wall between openings.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1857 – verb: to support with piers.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1957 – a passenger corridor at an airport.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A platform on [[pile|alt=piles]] built out over water, used as a landing place for boats or as a [[promenade]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A [[pillar]] or other support carrying a heavy load, especially between the spans of a [[bridge]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # The section of a wall between two openings such as windows.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A [[breakwater]] or [[mole]] protecting a harbour.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pierhead]]

+ * [[pier glass]]

+ * [[pier table]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}