ferry
/ˈfɛri
/noun (plural ferries)
1 (also ferry boat) A boat or ship for conveying passengers and goods, especially over a relatively short distance and as a regular service.I have seen him on a ferry boat on the Hudson River joke with the Italian bootblacks in the Neapolitan dialect and with complete success....
- A ferry boat dropped us at a wooden quay to be met by a waiter bearing rum punch.
- But if a rider refused a search, the State Patrol informed the captain of the ferry boat, who then refused to let the rider on the boat.
Synonyms
passenger boat, passenger ship, ferry boat, packet boat, packet, shuttle;
car ferry, train ferry, drive-on ferry, roll-on/roll-off ferry;
ship, boat, vessel;
South African pont;
in Venice traghetto
1.1A service using another mode of transport, especially aircraft, to convey passengers or goods.If he did, I could have flown my aircraft on a ferry permit to another island to have it repaired....
- We are more than happy to provide a quote for you aircraft ferry & delivery needs.
- The legal terminology for a ferry permit is called a special flight permit.
verb (ferries, ferrying, ferried) [with object and adverbial of direction]
1Convey in a ferry or other ship or boat, especially across a short stretch of water.A black-robed priest offered what words of consolation and comfort he could to distraught onlookers as more than 20 ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals....
- Restrictions remained in place on the city's main thoroughfare for a couple of hours as gardaí cordoned off the scene and ambulances ferried the injured to hospital.
- Ambulances that on Friday ferried the injured to hospital, spent yesterday standing by at the funerals to help relatives overcome with grief.
Synonyms
transport, convey, carry, bear, ship, run, chauffeur, take, bring, shuttle
go back and forth, shuttle, come and go, run
1.1Transport from one place to another on short or regular trips: ambulances ferried the injured to hospital
Derivatives
ferryman
/ /ˈfɛrimən / noun (plural ferrymen) ...- Every table has views over the loch, and the renovated croft and ferryman's cottage is decorated in a light, breezy way that immediately puts you at ease.
- The ferryman steered his craft across the moonlit Nile.
- My grim Mexican ferryman didn't utter a word throughout the crossing.
Origin
Middle English: from Old Norse ferja 'ferry boat', of Germanic origin and related to fare.
ford from Old English:
This is a Germanic word, closely related to ferry (Middle English) which comes from Old Norse, and to fare (Old English). This originally meant both to journey, travel—as in farewell (Late Middle English) ‘go well, safe journey’—and the journey itself. From this developed the sense payment for a journey in late Middle English.