Dock: the action of a muscle extruding from a body, that then takes material form. The term is used to describe the fleshy part of an animal’s tail, a plant growing out of wet ground, (originally) a small pole, a bundle (such as hair tied in a pony tale), a construction for securing boats to shore,  or a girl (presumably because of the hair tied in a pony tale or as a jetty for a man’s small pole. A tongue is also such a muscular extension. Over time, the word was transformed from a mysterious natural force into the force of a man making it, hence a dog’s tail could be docked, or cut back to a nub, and a person’s pay could be docked, or cut short as an act of control at some point. The energy of a true dock, though, is almost uncontainable, rarely assailable even by water, that yields to it. Now, that’s power!

Curly Dock in a Spring Wetland