Distinguish

This verb is sometimes improperly used for discriminate . We distinguish by means of the senses as well as of the understanding; we discriminate by means of the understanding only. "It is difficult, in some cases, to distinguish between ," etc.: should be, "It is difficult, in some cases, to discriminate between ," etc. We distinguish one thing from another , and discriminate between two or more things. Dock—Wharf. The first of these words is often improperly used for the second. Of docks there are several kinds: a naval dock is a place for the keeping of naval stores, timber, and materials for ship-building; a dry dock is a place where ve els are drawn out of the water for repairs; a wet dock is a place where ve els are kept afloat at a certain level while they are loaded and unloaded; a sectional dock is a contrivance for raising ve els out of the water on a series of air-tight boxes. A dock , then, is a place into which things are received; hence, a man might fall into a dock, but could no more fall off a dock than he could fall off a hole. A wharf is a sort of quay built by the side of the water. A similar structure built at a right angle with the shore is generally called a pier . Ve els lie at wharves and piers , not at docks .