Examples Word Origin
a commercial service with terminals and boats for transporting persons, automobiles, etc., across a river or other comparatively small body of water. a ferryboat. a service for flying airplanes over a particular route, especially the delivery of airplanes to an overseas purchaser or base of operations. the legal right to ferry passengers, cargo, etc., and to charge for the service. Show More
verb (used with object), fer·ried, fer·ry·ing. to carry or convey back and forth over a fixed route in a boat or plane. to fly (an airplane) over a particular route, especially for delivery. Show More
verb (used without object), fer·ried, fer·ry·ing. to go in a ferry. Show More
Origin of ferry before 1150; Middle English ferien, Old English ferian to carry; cognate with
Old Norse ferja, Gothic farjan; akin to
fare Related forms un·fer·ried , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for ferries barge ,
ferryboat ,
tote ,
send ,
shuttle ,
lug ,
carry ,
ship ,
transport ,
chauffeur ,
packet ,
buck ,
run ,
bear ,
convey ,
pack ,
schlepp Examples from the Web for ferries Contemporary Examples of ferries The ferries run every half-hour to the Russian mainland, but they take only a few dozen cars on each trip.
I don't mean yachts or ferries , but proper working ships: cargo and container and bulk and gas and oil, the ones we no longer see.
But a new service that ferries passengers from Boston to Cape Cod has been a success – without huge government subsidies.
One evening, 29-year-old Mahmoud explained to me that he ferries money, not guns, to the Syrian people.
Historical Examples of ferries Ferries , tugs and steamers seemed to be coming at us from every side.
All morning long, ferries , trolleys, trains were jammed with the race-mad throng.
The Dhīmar is also regularly employed as a worker on ferries .
He had just come off the "trail," he said, at one of the North River ferries .
He ran one of the ferries across the river to the Virginia shore.
British Dictionary definitions for ferries Also called: ferryboat a vessel for transporting passengers and usually vehicles across a body of water, esp as a regular service such a service (in combination ) a ferryman a legal right to charge for transporting passengers by boat the act or method of delivering aircraft by flying them to their destination Show More
verb -ries , -rying or -ried to transport or go by ferry to deliver (an aircraft) by flying it to its destination (tr) to convey (passengers, goods, etc) the guests were ferried to the church in taxis Show More
Word Origin for ferry Old English ferian to carry, bring; related to Old Norse ferja to transport, Gothic farjan ; see fare
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ferries n. early 15c., "a passage over a river," from Old Norse ferju- "passage across water," ultimately from the same Germanic root as ferry (v.). The modern noun (1580s) is a shortening of ferry boat (mid-15c.).
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v. Old English ferian "to carry, convey, bring, transport," from Proto-Germanic *farjanan (cf. Old Frisian feria "carry, transport," Old Norse ferja "to pass over, to ferry," Gothic farjan "travel by boat"), from PIE *per- "going, passage." Related to fare (v.). Related: Ferried ; ferries ; ferrying .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
