wharfinger

English

Etymology

wharfage +‎ -er

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔː.fɪn.d͡ʒə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔɹ.fɪn.d͡ʒɚ/
• (without the wine–whine merger) IPA^(key): /ˈhwɔɹ.fɪn.d͡ʒɚ/

Noun

wharfinger (plural wharfingers)

1. (chiefly historical) The owner or manager of a wharf.
   • 1940 December, Charles E. Lee, “The Wenford Mineral Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 645:

     A female wharfinger—a grade of staff peculiar to the Wenford Mineral Line—lives in an adjacent house.

   • 1993, Samuel Beckett, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, →ISBN, page 7:

     “Get off my pier,” said the wharfinger rudely, “and let me get home to my tea.”

Usage notes

According to Wharf in Wikipedia, certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as "wharves". The term was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a "wharfinger".

References

• “wharfinger”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.