# Word thing: Quay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893 "2005-03-10T20:20:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/21 "2005-03-11T00:49:30Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > So basically when I _see_ “from Derry quay up to Banbridge Bay,” the word “quay” is simply the word “ce” being misspelled by English-speaking transcribers, and since it means the same thing, it’s no biggie? Kind of. It is actually the English word ‘quay’, but that word in Ireland seems to have absorbed the matching pronunciation of the Irish word meaning the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/22 "2005-03-11T03:58:33Z")
I remember some weird memory test (Jerry Lewis mentions it every now and then) that begins one hen, two ducks, three squawking geese, four limerick oysters, etc Here’s a site: [http://cheesecakeandfriends.com/Troop1440/songs/OneHenTwoDucks.htm](http://cheesecakeandfriends.com/Troop1440/songs/OneHenTwoDucks.htm) Anyway, if that isn’t obscure enough, a local DJ (Boston) used to play a “song” (about a minute) of all 10 items. Yes, there is a point to all this. This was the first time I was ever made aware of the word “quay” which I might add was mispronounced as “KWAY” in the song. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/23 "2005-03-11T04:30:52Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > I remember some weird memory test (Jerry Lewis mentions it every now and then) that begins one hen, two ducks, three squawking geese, four limerick oysters, etc > Here’s a site: > [http://cheesecakeandfriends.com/Troop1440/songs/OneHenTwoDucks.htm](http://cheesecakeandfriends.com/Troop1440/songs/OneHenTwoDucks.htm) Hunh. I memorized this version: A big fat hen A couple of ducks Three big brown bears Four running hares Five fat frivolous females Six simple Simons sitting on a fence Seven Sicilian sailors sailing the seven seas Eight egotistical egotists eagerly echoing egotistical ecstasies Nine nubile nudes nibbling nibbling nuts, nickels and nicotine I slit a sheet, a sheet I slit, upon the slitted sheet I sit. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/24 "2005-03-11T13:15:04Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I think you’re missing the point of the suggestion that it’s a “British thing” - the Canadian (or at least Toronto) and Australian pronunciations seem to match the British one, and it’s the American version that’s different. I am Canadian. That is why I mentioned that most everybody I know called Norquay Norkway. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/25 "2005-03-11T13:31:44Z")
UK place names which incorporate it have the ‘kee’ sound - Newquay, Torquay. [Slight hijack] the Welsh ‘cae’, mentioned (and mistranslated, it means field not fence or hedge) in the etymology link, is pronounced to rhyme with ‘eye’ though so I’m not sure of the connection. Modern Welsh dictionaries give ‘cei’ (to rhyme with ‘kay’) as the translation of ‘quay’ but which came first I don’t know. [slight hijack] My semi-educated guess is that the word ‘quai’ (kay) came over with the normans and, as with a lot of words, the pronunciation got mangled as a new language evolveded. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/26 "2005-03-11T13:37:41Z")
> [@Cat Jones](#): > > [Slight hijack] the Welsh ‘cae’, mentioned (and mistranslated, it means field not fence or hedge) in the etymology link, is pronounced to rhyme with ‘eye’ though so I’m not sure of the connection. Modern Welsh dictionaries give ‘cei’ (to rhyme with ‘kay’) as the translation of ‘quay’ but which came first I don’t know. [slight hijack] That link doesn’t indicate a link between the Welsh ‘cae’ and ‘quay’ - it suggests they are each independently derived from earlier languages, and French influenced the spelling of ‘quay’ at a later stage. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/27 "2005-03-11T16:23:42Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > [aaaaah, it’s a hijack, run away] > > We’re studying Don Quixote in my Humanities class, and my teacher pronounces it “kee-show-t”. I’ve always pronounced it “kee-ho-tee”. Am I an idiot? > > [/aaaah, hijack] “Quichotte” is the French spelling: “kee-showt”. This has its origins in the original Spanish pronunciation, “kee-show-tay” (more or less.) Modern Spanish has “kee-ho-tay” (or “cho” with the “ch” of “Channukah” or “Bach” if you’re a Spaniard.) ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/28 "2005-03-11T16:32:10Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > … and until now, it never occured to me that “sitting by the dock of the bay” makes absolutely no sense in British English. It doesn’t? 😕 I understand bay to mean a natural inlet from the sea (or a lake, I suppose) and a dock to be a man-made construction for ships or boats. I’m sure many bays have docks built in them. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/29 "2005-03-11T16:42:32Z")
Frankly, it doesn’t make sense in my American English either. In my mind, if you’re sitting on (or, rather, in) a dock, then you’re getting wet. I prefer to sit on the pier where I can stay dry. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/30 "2005-03-11T17:02:56Z")
‘Dock _by_ the bay’, or ‘dock _on_ the bay\*’, make sense to me. But not ‘of’. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/31 "2005-03-11T17:55:05Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > ‘Dock _by_ the bay’, or ‘dock _on_ the bay\*’, make sense to me. But not ‘of’. Ah. I get you. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/32 "2005-03-11T20:56:15Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I understand bay to mean a natural inlet from the sea (or a lake, I suppose) and a dock to be a man-made construction for ships or boats. I’m sure many bays have docks built in them. \ Strictly speaking, the dock is the place where the boat goes. The _pier_ is the thing you walk on. (Or _wharf_ if it’s parallel to the shore.) Hardly anyone makes this distinction, though. \ ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/33 "2005-03-11T21:23:39Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > That link doesn’t indicate a link between the Welsh ‘cae’ and ‘quay’ - it suggests they are each independently derived from earlier languages, and French influenced the spelling of ‘quay’ at a later stage. Point taken **GorillaMan** (translation was still faulty tho’) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/34 "2005-03-11T23:23:35Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > \ > > Strictly speaking, the dock is the place where the boat goes. The _pier_ is the thing you walk on. (Or _wharf_ if it’s parallel to the shore.) > > Hardly anyone makes this distinction, though. > > \ [www.dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com) gives ‘pier or wharf’ as one of several definitions of dock. > [@Cat Jones](#): > > (translation was still faulty tho’) Agreed. (Not that I’ve any reason or knowledge with which to disagree 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/35 "2005-03-12T02:03:59Z")
Anyone know if [url=“[http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/directors/tbrothers/](http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/directors/tbrothers/)”]these guys [/quote] pronounce their names “Kee” as well? I’m pretty familiar with their work but can’t remember if I ever actually heard their names pronounced out loud (at least by someone who would rightly know). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/36 "2005-03-12T02:06:52Z")
Crap. Sorry about the coding. [Fixed link](http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/directors/tbrothers/) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/37 "2005-03-12T02:10:32Z")
It’s “Brothers Kway.” And it figures the dictionary would say that _now_, **GorillaMan**. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/38 "2005-03-12T14:22:35Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > We’re studying Don Quixote in my Humanities class, and my teacher pronounces it “kee-show-t”. I’ve always pronounced it “kee-ho-tee”. Am I an idiot? There’s a good deal of confusion among educated English speakers how it should be pronounced. I think William Safire once did a column about the controversy. As best I can recall, what he said was more or less the same as what Wikipedia says: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don\_Quixote#Spelling\_and\_pronunciation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote#Spelling_and_pronunciation) The adjective _quixotic_ is always pronounced “quick-sot-ick” in my experience. Something to keep in mind when you use it in that cut-throat Scrabble game. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/39 "2005-03-12T16:33:18Z")
As the former editor of the \*Quay County Sun \*in Tucumcari, New Mexico, here in Quay County we pronounce it “Kway.” I can also add that the people of Quay, New Mexico, a community about 20 miles south of Tucumcari pronounce their community as “Kway”. That being said, the people in this area also pronounce the word “shit” as “chit”. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893/40 "2005-03-12T16:49:06Z")
Not to mention that emminent rocker, [Quay Lewd](http://www.thetubes.com/20041017aca/20041017aca.htm). (The “real name” of the Tube’s front man is Fee Waybill, which is almost as silly. It appears that he was born “John Waldo”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-thing-quay/293893.md?page=3)