The definition of a pier is a heavy structure usually built over water.
(noun)An example of a pier is a dock for tying up boats.
See pier in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
Origin: ME per < ML pera, ult. < ? or akin to L petra, stone < Gr, rock
See pier in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
Origin:
Origin: Middle English per, bridge support
Origin: , partly from Norman French pere, piere (from Old French puiere, a support, from puie, from puier, to support, from Vulgar Latin *podiāre, from Latin podium, platform; see podium)
Origin: and partly from Medieval Latin pera (from Old North French pire, piere, breakwater, possibly from Latin petra, rock, from Greek petrā; see per-2 in Indo-European roots)
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