Reply #5: i used the word "quay" in a poem

[nicolemrw]

and correctly too, i might add, and the teacher refused to believe it was a real word.

Main Entry: quay
Pronunciation: 'kE, 'kA, 'kwA
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of earlier key, from Middle English, from Middle French dialect cai, probably of Celtic origin; akin to Breton kae hedge, enclosure; akin to Old English hecg hedge
: a structure built parallel to the bank of a waterway for use as a landing place

that one still irks me to this day.