As I mentioned in the word confusion “Harbor vs Marina vs Port vs Quay“, a quay is not the same as a cay or a key, although a cay is a key, depending on whether you’re British or American. Or Belizean in the case of caye.
And yes, the trio of word confusions are definitely heterographs (a subset of homophone).
NOTE: This post only addresses key with its marine definition.
Exploring Later . . .
Other water posts include “Anchorage, Haven, Moorage, and Roadstead“, “Arroyo vs Coulee vs Wadi vs Wash“, “Bay vs Bight vs Cove“, “Bayou vs Bog vs Marsh vs Swamp“, “Beach vs Coast vs Shore“, “Born vs Borne vs Bourn“, “Brook vs Burn vs Draw vs Lick“, “Canal vs Impoundment vs Moat vs Reservoir“, “Cay vs Key vs Quay“, “Channel vs Dyke vs Rill“, “Creak versus Creek“, “Dam versus Damn“, “Delta vs Estuary vs Rapids vs Source“, “Dock vs Pier vs Wharf“, “Firth vs Fjord vs Gulf“, “Harbor vs Marina vs Port vs Quay“, “Lakes: Kettle, Loch, Mere, and Oxbow“, “Ocean versus Sea“, “Peer versus Pier“, “River vs Stream vs Tributary“, “Rivulet vs Runnel vs Sike“, “Sea versus See“, “Slew versus Slough“, and “Straight versus Strait“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Cay vs Key vs Quay” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Cay | Key | Quay |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Noun [British]
Plural: cays Alternative spelling:
|
Noun
Plural: keys Alternative spelling: cay [British] |
Noun
Plural: quays |
| [Geography] A low bank or reef of coral, rock, or sand | [Geography] A low-lying island or reef, especially in the Caribbean | A concrete, stone, or metal platform lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships |
| Examples: | ||
| “Once the sea level stabilized, it was possible for reef flats to expand and provide potential sites for the formation of cays” (Tryon).
“The Colombian archipelago is approximately 750 km (470 mi) north of the Colombian mainland [encompassing] a total area of 57 km2 (22 sq mi), including the outer cays, reefs, atolls, and sand banks” (Rincón). Heron Island in Australia is a coral cay on the southern Great Barrier Reef (Cay). “Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef” (Cay). “The Capricornia Cays National Park protects eight vegetated coral cays — Lady Musgrave, North West, Masthead, Wilson, Heron, Erskine and Tryon islands, and part of Heron” (Capricornia). |
This massive lagoon is fringed by more than 670 islands and keys.
“The Florida Keys are probably the most famous keys in the world” (Evers). “Tobacco Caye is an artificial key off the coast of Belize” (Evers). A plethora of tourists and service industries make keys vulnerable (Evers). |
“It also hovers at an urban scale including the square, the quay, and the lake” (Quay).
“Being absent is also risky because drivers appointed by the port authorities will remove the cars from the quay” (Quay). “These drivers usually work under pressure of time, and their chief interest is to drive the cars from the quay as soon as possible” (Quay). “The estimated cost of development (the quay, the promenade, streets and parking places) was about £700,000” (Quay). “Originally built to serve ships, the scale of the quays is unsuitable for recreational pursuits” (Quay). |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: quaylike Noun: quayage |
||
| History of the Word: | ||
| From the Taino word cairi meaning island, in the late 17th century it became the Spanish cayo meaning shoal, reef, from an Arawak language of the Taino. | Late 17th century from the Spanish cayo meaning shoal, reef, influenced by quay. | Late Middle English key, from the Old French kay, is of Celtic origin. The change of spelling in the late 17th century was influenced by the modern French spelling quai. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Cay vs Key vs Quay
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Apple Dictionary.com
“Capricornia Cays National Park.” Parks and Forests. Archives of EPA of Queensland Government of Australia. Internet Archive Wayback Machine. 28 Feb 2008. Web. 25 Nov 2022. <https://web.archive.org/web/20080624000202/http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/parks_and_forests/find_a_park_or_forest/capricornia_cays_national_park/>.
“Cay.” Wikipedia. 12 Oct 22. Web. 25 Nov 2022. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cay>.
Evers, Jeannie (ed.). “Key.” Resources. National Geographic. 20 May 2022. Web. 25 Nov 2022. <https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/key>.
“Quay.” Cambridge English Corpus. n.d. Web. 25 Nov 2022. <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/example/english/quay>.
Rincón, Alejandro. “All-Inclusive Overwater Resort.” El Turiso en Colombia. n.d. Web. 25 Nov 2022. <https://elturismoencolombia.com/en/tourism-colombia/san-andres-islands-travel-guide/san-andres-islands-useful-information/>.
“Tryon Island.” CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikipedia. 30 Oct 2022. Web. 25 Nov 2022. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryon_Island&g;.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
The Split, Caye Caulker, Belize, by Steven Zwerink, courtesy of the Lazy Lizzard Bar, is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Revised as of 7 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie