jetty

noun

1. A part of a building that jets or projects beyond the rest; specifically, an upper storey which overhangs the part of the building below.

   “Spérto, a porch, a portall, a baie vvindovv, or out butting, or iettie of a houſe that ietties out farther than anie other part of the houſe, a iettie or butte.”

   “Moſt prepoſtrous therefore and improper is our frequent aſſigning ſuch vveak ſupporters to ſuch monſtrous jetties and exceſſive Superſtructures as vve many times find under Balconies, Bay-VVindovvs and long Galleries, […]”

2. (broadly)A structure of stone or wood which extends into a river or sea to protect a bank, beach, harbour, etc., from currents or tides; a breakwater.

   “[I]t appeareth that all the auncient Townes and Citties which ſtand vppon the Riuers of Rhyne and Danowe, towardes Fraunce and Italy, did ſerue rather for a Banke or Iettie againſt the ouerflowing of the Germanes, than for Fortreſſes to aſſayle them withall.”

   “Near the River VVelland, that runs thro the Tovvn of Spalding in Lincolnſhire, at the depth of above 8 or 10 foot, there vvere found Jettys, as they call them, to keep up the old Rivers Bank, and the head of a Tunnel that emptied the Land-vvater into the old River; […]”

   “[I]nſtead of demolition, they found conſtruction; for the French vvere then at vvork on the repair of the jettees. On the remonſtrances of General [Henry Seymour] Convvay, ſome parts of theſe jettees were immediately deſtroyed.”

3. (broadly)A dock or wharf extending into a river from a bank, or into a sea from a shore, for boats to land or moor at; a pier.

   “There are excellent jetties for landing by boat at the Marine Hotel, and the Vine Inn; […]”

   “The boathouse was a stone one, with a narrow quay along each wall inside, and a small jetty sticking out beyond it into the lake.”

   “The wooden jetty on the East Pier had become worm-eaten and was demolished, but the Admiralty lent an old hulk to serve as a rough-and-ready packet facility.”

4. (broadly)A dock or wharf extending into a river from a bank, or into a sea from a shore, for boats to land or moor at; a pier.
5. (broadly)A dock or wharf extending into a river from a bank, or into a sea from a shore, for boats to land or moor at; a pier.
6. (broadly, obsolete)Synonym of bulwark (“a defensive rampart or wall”).

verb

1. (transitive)Sometimes followed by out: to construct (a part of a building) so that it jets or projects beyond the rest.

   “Adentellare, […] It is properly to ietty out, or indent ſtones or timber of any vnfinished building, that another may the eaſier be ioyned vnto, or that finiſhed.”

2. (broadly, transitive)To provide (a riverbank, seashore, etc.) with a jetty (“breakwater; dock or wharf”) (noun etymology 1, noun sense 2.1 or etymology 1, noun sense 2.2).

   “The land is indeed materially injured in many parts, for want of drains; but I think the expence would exceed the profit: they would soon lodge up, and consequently want jettying on the sides.”

   “The harbor of Greytown was formely open to vessels of considerable draught, but has almost been closed by sand bars; the surveys show, however, that the expense will be but moderate, by jettying with brush and pile, and finally strengthening of stone, of making an entrance for vessels of 30 feelt draught to an amply protected and safe harbor, […]”

3. (intransitive)Sometimes followed by out or over: of (a part of) a building: to jet or project beyond the rest of the building or other structures.

   “Spérto, a porch, a portall, a baie vvindovv, or out butting, or iettie of a houſe that ietties out farther than anie other part of the houſe, a iettie or butte.”

   “[A]s he beheld from out of the houſe Gelotiana, the preparation and furniture of the Cirque, ſome fevv from the next open galleries jettying out, called unto him for the ſame.”

   “Three ſides thereof [of Bebel Futuli, the Port of Triumph, a gate of the city of Cairo] are incloſed vvith goodly buildings, hauing galleries of pleaſure vvhich ietty over, ſuſtained vpon pillars.”

4. (broadly, intransitive)To provide a riverbank, seashore, etc., with a jetty (noun etymology 1, noun sense 2.1 or etymology 1, noun sense 2.2).
5. (intransitive, obsolete, rare)To move with haste.

   “Some knack not vnpretye, / of Huſwiferie nettie, / how Huſwiues ſhould iettie / from morning to night.”

adj

1. (obsolete, rare)Having the characteristic of jetting or jutting out; protruding.

   “Tvviſe tvventie Iettie ſailes vvith him, the ſvvelling ſtreame did take.”

   “As near yon rock we bore, that o'er the waves / Just shews its jetty point, and will, ere long, / Beneath the tide be hid, we heard the sound / Of feeble lamentation.”

2. (archaic)Like jet (“a hard, black form of coal”) in colour; jet-black, pitch-black.

   “Blacke are his colloures, blacke Pauillion, / His ſpeare, his ſhield, his horſe, his armour, plumes, / And Ietty Feathers menace death and hell, / VVithout reſpect of ſex, degree or age.”

   “[A]s amongſt the Moores, the Iettieſt blacke are deem'd / The beautifulſt of them; […]”

   “You'll be no more your former You; / But for a blooming Nymph vvill paſs / Juſt Fifteen, coming Summer's Graſs: / Your jetty Locks vvith Garlands crovvn'd, […]”

   “At morn the black-cock trims his jetty wing, / 'Tis morning prompts the linnet's blithest lay; […]”

   “Her eyelashes, though dark as night, were tinged / (It is the country's custom), but in vain; / For those large black eyes were so blackly fringed, / The glossy rebels mock'd the jetty stain, / And in their native beauty stood avenged: […]”

3. (obsolete, rare)Having a composition like that of jet.

   “In the Whitby Museum there is a large mass of bone, which has the exterior converted into jet for about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The jetty matter appears to have entered first into the pores of the bone, and there to have hardened; and, during the mineralising process, the whole bony matter has been gradually displaced, and its place occupied by jet, so as to preserve its original form.”