It snowed a nice snow last night, but I haven’t been able to get out yet. So, I offer this image of Great Cove on Wednesday, which was a beautifully bright, wildly windy, and bitterly cold day:
Extending outward into the whitecaps is the WoodenBoat School’s “pier” or “dock,” a word choice that may depend on your point of view. I always wondered what the difference was between a pier and a dock, and I finally put the question to Google.
It turns out that most language experts apparently say that, for American English, there is no meaningful difference between the two words; either is proper in common discussion. However, there are some regional American word preferences in which a “dock” is any simple floating structure for securing (“docking”) one or more boats, while a “pier” is larger, built on vertical supports, and is more of a public place from which to fish or even enjoy recreational enterprises, whether or not it has an area for docking vessels.
On the other hand, for British English speakers, piers and docks apparently always are distinctly differentiated. For them, a dock refers to an enclosed body of water separated from the surrounding water; it is used primarily for trade-oriented activities such as loading, unloading, and repairs. British piers are known as the structures that jut from the shore into the waters, often for public recreation.
(Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on February 14, 2024.)