Wharfinger
Encyclopedia
Wharfinger is an archaic term for a person who is the keeper or owner of a wharf
. The wharfinger took custody of and was responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically had an office on the wharf or dock, and was responsible for day-to-day activities including slipways, keeping tide tables and resolving disputes. The word's etymology
is probably Elizabethan-era English. An 1844 usage appears in Pigot's Directory of Dorset in which Beales and Cox are noted to be wharfingers for the Port of Weymouth
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Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
. The wharfinger took custody of and was responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically had an office on the wharf or dock, and was responsible for day-to-day activities including slipways, keeping tide tables and resolving disputes. The word's etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
is probably Elizabethan-era English. An 1844 usage appears in Pigot's Directory of Dorset in which Beales and Cox are noted to be wharfingers for the Port of Weymouth
Weymouth
Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is south of Dorchester and north of the Isle of Portland. The town's population is 52,950 ....
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Uses
- Richard Wharfinger is the name of a fictional Jacobean playwright—author of The Courier's Tragedy--in Thomas PynchonThomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
's 1965 novel The Crying of Lot 49The Crying of Lot 49The Crying of Lot 49 is a novel by Thomas Pynchon, first published in 1966. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, it is about a woman, Oedipa Maas, possibly unearthing the centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies, Thurn und Taxis and the Trystero...
. - British Author Jane Wilson-HowarthJane Wilson-HowarthJane Wilson-Howarth is a British physician, lecturer and author. She has written three travel health guides, two travel narratives and innumerable articles and scientific papers.-Early life:...
's grandfather listed his occupation on his daughter's birth certificate in 1926 as wharfinger; he was supervisor of a warehouse in the London Docks between the wars.
See also
- SlipwaySlipwayA slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
- WharfWharfA wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
- DemurrageDemurrageThe term demurrage originated in vessel chartering and refers to the period when the charterer remains in possession of the vessel after the period normally allowed to load and unload cargo . By extension demurrage refers to the charges that the charterer pays to the shipowner for its extra use of...
- bonded warehouseBonded warehouseA Bonded warehouse is a building or other secured area in which dutiable goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty. It may be managed by the state or by private enterprise. In the latter case a customs bond must be posted with the government...
- BerthBerth (moorings)A berth is a location in a port or harbour used specifically for mooring vessels while not at sea.-Locations in a port:Berth is the term used in ports and harbors to define a specific location where a vessel may be berthed, usually for the purposes of loading and unloading.Most berths will be...
- yachtYachtA yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
- yacht brokerYacht brokerA yacht broker is a specialist agent who acts as a representative for the sale of a yacht or boat. The yacht broker is paid an agreed commission the sale price of a yacht and to this end markets the yacht for sale, fields buyer interest and act as a ‘middle man’ in the negotiations.- Yacht Broker...
- houseboatHouseboatA houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...