The etymology of dock leads us to a word in the Arabic language that can be translated as “factory house” or “industrial house”. The term refers to the sector of a port that has some type of shelter built artificially to favor the anchoring of vessels and to facilitate the loading and unloading of goods.
The etymological root refers to the fact that the first docks were docks where the manufacture and repair of ships took place. Over time these artificial guards began to be used in different ways.
Precisely because of these coincidences in the first versions of docks, confusion arose between both concepts, which are often present today. To understand the differences between the two, let's first look at a brief definition of the term dock .
It is known by the name of dock to the construction that is carried out in the water to allow sailors to dock the boats and ships, that is, to bring them closer to each other or to land, with the purpose of carrying out their different activities loading and unloading, which may involve both goods and passengers, as appropriate.
The construction of a pier can be carried out using various materials, among which wood, brick and stone stand out. With regard to the environment in which it is carried out, the most frequent are a river, a lake or the sea, and it is established in its bed through bases that act as firm supports.
Returning to the concept of a dock, it resembles that of a dock in several aspects: both are built artificially, and in waters used for navigation; both facilitate loading and unloading tasks, essential in many port activities; both allow boats to be brought to the mainland comfortably. A key term in this context is Surgidero , which is the name the place in which they fund the ships, ie, which are secured using anchors; both the dock and the dock are designed considering this action.
Modern ports usually have several docks. In this way, the arriving vessels find facilities for their operations. For example: "The port authorities announced that the dredging of the docks will begin next month" , "This morning a Navy diver found the body of the victim in the southern dock of the port" , "The young man fell into the river from a dock and had to be rescued by the cruise crew ” .
The concept of dock is also used to name the surface that allows the parking of cars and other vehicles that must load and unload in a shopping center, an airport, a railway station, a bus terminal, etc.: “You can't park here: this dock is exclusively for taxis " , " The bus entered the dock at high speed and ended up crashing into a column " , " Please do not approach the dock until the vehicle is completely stopped . "