wharfinger
Syllables: wharf·ing·er/ˈwɔːfɪnd͡ʒə/US/ˈwɔɹfɪnd͡ʒəɹ/
wharfinger noun: the manager or owner of a wharf (“artificial landing place for ships on a riverbank or shore”).
Noun
wharfinger (plural wharfingers)
- The manager or owner of a wharf (“artificial landing place for ships on a riverbank or shore”).
- Near-synonym: dockmaster
- And be it further enacted by the authority aforeſaid, that if any wharfinger, crane keeper, ſearcher, lyghterman, weighter or other officer pertayning to the ſubſidie cuſtome, or cuſtome houſe, doo at any time after the ſaid day, conſent or knowe any offence or thing to bee committed or done...1579, “Merchants & Merchandises”, in William Rastall [i.e., William Rastell], editor, A Collection of All the Statutes, from the Beginning of Magna Charta, vnto this Present Yeare of Our Lord God...
- Synonyms:
- wharfmaster, dockmaster
- The manager of a wharf along a railway line, that is, a place used for loading and unloading goods on to trains.
- A female wharfinger—a grade of staff peculiar to the Wenford Mineral Line—lives in an adjacent house.1940 December, Charles E. Lee, “The Wenford Mineral Line”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 645
Examples of wharfinger in a sentence
- That, if otherwise, the imposing of such a duty upon a landowner is forbidden by precisely the same principles as have forbidden the imposition upon Wharfingers, Railway Companies and Shipowners.1871 February 15, William Holloway, Acting Chief Justice, “The Madras Railway Company v. The Zaminda’r of Ka’vatinaggur [Regular Appeal No....
- Concurrently the need of the railways was growing, and, sooner or later, that need would overcome the opposition of the wharfingers1896 November 10, Samuel George Homfray, “The Machinery of the Tower Bridge [Paper No. 2992; Discussion]”, in J. H. T. Tudsbery, editor...
- It was the wharfinger, seeking whom he might devour.1932 (date written), Samuel Beckett, chapter 2, in Eoin O’Brien, Edith Fournier, editors, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, London; Paris...
Synonyms of wharfinger
Forms of wharfinger
| plural | wharfingers |
|---|
Origin of wharfinger
From Late Middle English wharfager (“keeper of a wharf”) (modified in the same way as messenger from Middle English messager, passenger from Middle English passager, etc.), from wharfage (“use of a wharf; payment for such use”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns, especially names of persons engaged in professions or trades). Wharfage is probably derived from Medieval Latin wharfāgium, or from Middle English wharf (“structure projecting into a body of water for ships to moor and load or unload, pier, quay, wharf”) + -age (suffix forming nouns denoting actions, states, etc.). By surface analysis, wharfage + -er.
Questions about wharfinger
- What does wharfinger mean?
- Wharfinger means the manager or owner of a wharf (“artificial landing place for ships on a riverbank or shore”).
- How do you use wharfinger in a sentence?
- That, if otherwise, the imposing of such a duty upon a landowner is forbidden by precisely the same principles as have forbidden the imposition upon Wharfingers, Railway Companies and Shipowners.
- What part of speech is wharfinger?
- Wharfinger is a noun.
- How do you pronounce wharfinger?
- Wharfinger is pronounced /ˈwɔːfɪnd͡ʒə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of wharfinger?
- The plural of wharfinger is wharfingers.
Words near wharfinger in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wharfinger (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wharfinger.wav.
Cite this entry: “wharfinger.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wharfinger. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.