The historical distinction between a wharf and a quay

What is the difference between a wharf and a quay?

In the proposed older usage, a wharf directly served warehouses and a quay was a broader unloading frontage, with later usage blurring the distinction.

The proposed distinction concerns a waterfront's connection to storage. A wharf directly serves warehouses, allowing cargo to pass from a ship into the buildings beside it. Quay is used more broadly for a prepared frontage where ships unload. The follow-up places the distinction in a fourteenth-century setting, while acknowledging that later usage often treats the terms interchangeably.