Keys, Cays and Quays

This has always been confusing to me: What’s the difference between a key, a cay and a quay? Spoiler alert: Nothing.

Well, that’s not entirely true. In geography, I learned about the Florida Keys, the group of small islands off the US mainland state of Florida. As happens with much of what we learn, I never opened a dictionary to look it up; my grammar school brain absorbed “key” as a small piece of metal that opens a lock, a guide to a map, a musical pitch, and now a low lying island.

Flash forward a few years to my best friend’s brother’s wedding. I hear that they are going to Ambergris Cay for their honeymoon. What I actually heard was “Ambergris Key.” I blushed a little bit when I learned the pronunciation; I had always said “kay”. After all, that is how it’s spelled! Good ol’ English.

Or, in this case, Spanish. Determined to get to the bottom of this, I finally looked it up. Cay, from the Spanish cayo. Alright, that makes sense. What’s this “quay” then? I had seen it when reading about pirates in the Caribbean (inspired after a Disney trip to learn more about these romanticized scoundrels). Since I was reading about old timey sailor men, I figured it must be an old timey version of cay…or key.

Close. Middle English, that period from the 12th through 15th century, borrowed and adapted quite readily. In that time, “key” referred to a wharf, and “quay” was simply a variant. During the same time, the Middle French “cai” referred to a sandbar, and was likely adapted by the Spanish. Pronunciation was probably very similar, and both words seem to have Gaulic (caium) and Celtic (cae) origins.

While quay seems to have fallen from use, key and cay are still used frequently and interchangeably. Though originally they referred to different things – wharf versus sandbar – today they both mean one thing: An island paradise playground, most likely with a large resort serving delicious and refreshing cocktails. And that, of course, is “key.” 😉