[Anglo-Saxon stæde]. An embankment on the river bank whence to load vessels. Also, a large wooden wharf, with a timber frame of either shoots or drops, according to circumstances.
·noun A landing place; an elevated staging upon a wharf for discharging coal, ·etc., as from railway...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
a warehouse on the bank of a navigable river. North. A wharf. North. ...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose