pier

[peer]
noun
1.
a structure built on posts extending from land out over water, used as a landing place for ships, an entertainment area, a strolling place, etc.; jetty.
2.
(in a bridge or the like) a support for the ends of adjacent spans.
3.
a square pillar.
4.
a portion of wall between doors, windows, etc.
5.
a pillar or post on which a gate or door is hung.
6.
a support of masonry, steel, or the like for sustaining vertical pressure.
7.
a long passageway or corridor that extends from a central area of a building, especially one at an airport that leads to boarding gates.

Origin:
before 1150; Middle English pere, earlier (perhaps late Old English) per < Anglo-Latin pera, pēra pier of a bridge

un·der·pier, noun

dock, harbor, pier, wharf (see synonym study at harbor).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Pier is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Collins
World English Dictionary
pier (pɪə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a structure with a deck that is built out over water, and used as a landing place, promenade, etc
2.  a pillar that bears heavy loads, esp one of rectangular cross section
3.  the part of a wall between two adjacent openings
4.  another name for buttress
 
[C12 per, from Anglo-Latin pera pier supporting a bridge]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pier
c.1150, "support of a span of a bridge," from M.L. pera, of unknown origin, perhaps from O.N.Fr. pire "a breakwater," from V.L. *petricus, from L. petra "rock." Meaning "solid structure in a harbor, used as a landing place for vessels," is attested from 1453.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Afterward, watch the commercial fishing boats unloading the day's catch on the
  pier.
And the doctors were there on the pier with boxes of hypodermic needles giving
  them morphine shots.
The house is a small, one-story frame house of a style called pier and beam,
  which means that it sits on blocks.
The instructors had prepared the pier by spraying it down with water.
Image for pier
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