ferry
nounEtymology The verb is from Middle English ferien (“to carry, convey”), from Old English ferian, from Proto-West Germanic *farjan, from Proto-Germanic *farjaną, which see for cognates. This verb is the causative of Proto-Germanic *faraną (“to go, travel”), whence English fare; ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *per-. The noun is from Middle English ferie (“place of crossing, ferry”), which was derived from the above verb under influence of Old Norse ferja, from Proto-Germanic *farjǭ, itself also from the verb. False cognate of Latin ferō.
Nautical, Transport A boat or ship used to transport people, smaller vehicles and goods from one port to another, usually on a regular schedule.
- Near-synonym: ferryboat
- Islanders normally have to queue for half an hour to get on the ferry.
1 more example
- To reach Mui Wo, a small town on Lantau Island, you take a ferry from central Hong Kong, and after a 30-minute ride arrive at a small square with a car park and bus stops blackened by fumes.2019 November 22, Ilaria Maria Sala, “After the Protests: How Will Hong Kong Vote?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Nov 2019, Opinion:
A place where passengers are transported across water in such a ship.
- It can pass the ferry backward into light.1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC:
- to row us o'er the ferry1809, Thomas Campbell, Lord Ullin's Daughter:
1 more example
- She walked into the waiting-room of the ferry, and up the stairs, and by a marvellous swift, little run, caught the ferry-boat that was just going out.c. 1900, O. Henry, The Ferry of Unfulfilment:
The service constituted by this watercraft's operation; the business (company) that operates such a service.
- In those days there was a ferry at Sleepytown. Modern roads and bridges for motor vehicles have rendered such local river ferries obsolete.
The legal right or franchise that entitles a corporate body or an individual to operate such a service: a right of ferry.
- granted a ferry to
- In 1794, the county court of Mason, granted a ferry to Benjamin Sutton, who owned two lots on the front of water street. In 1801, the same privilege was re-granted to him by the court. In 1797, a ferry was granted to Edmund Martin, by the county court. In 1808, a ferry was granted, by the county court, to Jacob Boon. In 1818, a ferry was granted, by the court, to J. K. Ficklin, and in 1823, another ferry was granted, by the court, to Benjamin Baylies. Bonds with security, were executed by the grantees respectively. The ferrys of Ficklin and Baylies have not been in operation for two or three years past. Those of Sutton, Martin and Boon, have been in operation ever since their establishment. Boon and Martin are both dead. Sutton sold his lots and ferry to Armstrong. Powers and Campbell, who attended to the ferrys granted to Boon and Martin, live in the state of Ohio. Armstrong resides in Maysville.1831 [1829 October 9], J.J. Marshall, Reporter of the Decisions of the Court of Appeals, quoting Judge Robertson, “Trustees of Maysville vs. Boon, &c. Appeal from Mason County Court”, in Reports of the Cases at Law and in Equity, Argued and Decided in the Court of Appeals of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, volume II, page 224:
- Derived terms
40 terms
Austins Ferry, Bonners Ferry, Briton Ferry, Broughty Ferry, cable ferry, car ferry, chain ferry, Connel Ferry, cruiseferry, Dingmans Ferry, Dodges Ferry, ferriable, ferriage, ferryboat, ferry bridge, ferry car, ferryhouse, ferryman, ferry railway, ferry van, ferry wagon, ferrywoman, Fiddler's Ferry, Gales Ferry, Grove Ferry, Hacks Ferry, Harpers Ferry, horse ferry, King Ferry, Meikle Ferry, Menzies Ferry, Owston Ferry, Queensferry, rhino ferry, Rock Ferry, Stoke Ferry, superferry, train ferry, West Ferry, Wisemans Ferry