ferryman
Americannoun
plural
ferrymenOther Word Forms
- subferryman noun
Etymology
Origin of ferryman
First recorded in 1425–75, ferryman is from the late Middle English word feryman. See ferry, man
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kentridge likens the captain to the ferryman, Charon, in Greek mythology transporting the dead across the river Styx to the underworld.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2025
This week, a different anticyclone, named for Hades’ ferryman, also drifted from North Africa toward Europe’s outer-region nations, consigning Italy to crisis mode.
From Slate • Jul. 20, 2023
European news outlets are referring to the latest heat wave in Southern Europe as “Caronte,” after the ferryman in Dante Alighieri’s poem “Inferno.”
From New York Times • Jul. 18, 2023
Italian weather forecasters are warning that the next heatwave - dubbed Charon after the ferryman who delivered souls into the underworld in Greek mythology - will push temperatures back up above 40C next week.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2023
A ferryman purchased from a neighbor in 1767, he was listed as the chief cook by 1787 in plantation records.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
