A Pier Holds Up a Bridge Before It Holds Up a Promenade
A pier is a structure extending into water. In architecture it is a solid support.
A pier is a structure built out into water for landing boats or for promenading. Its older meaning is architectural and quite different: a pier is a solid masonry support, the pillar between two arches or the mass of wall between two windows. A bridge stands on piers, and the seaside pier got its name from the same idea of supports driven into the water. English pleasure piers are a Victorian invention, built so that visitors could feel at sea without sailing.
- A seaside structure. *Brighton Pier.*
- A landing place. *A ferry pier.*
- A masonry support. *A bridge pier.*
- Wall between windows. *A pier glass.*
- Medieval Latin — *pera*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | pier | A pier. |
| Plural | piers | Piers. |
| Compound | pier glass | A pier glass. |
| Related | jetty | A jetty. |
| Related | quay | A quay. |
- They walked along the pier.Seaside.
- The bridge rests on stone piers.Structure.
- A pier glass hangs between windows.Furniture.
Pier, jetty, quay, wharf
- Pier — built out into water on supports
- Jetty — projects out, often to control currents
- Quay — a solid landing built along the shore
- Wharf — a structure for loading ships alongside
- Mole — a massive breakwater doubling as a landing
Medieval Latin *pera*, of uncertain origin, recorded in English from the 1100s for a bridge support.
What is a pier in architecture?
A solid support, such as the masonry between two arches or the wall between two windows.
What is a pier glass?
A tall mirror designed to hang on the pier, meaning the wall between two windows.