ferry

Meanings

Verb

• To carry; transport; convey.
• To move someone or something from one place to another, usually repeatedly.
• To carry or transport over a contracted body of water, as a river or strait, in a boat or other floating conveyance plying between opposite shores.
• To pass over water in a boat or by ferry.

Noun

• A ship used to transport people, smaller vehicles and goods from one port to another, usually on a regular schedule.
• A place where passengers are transported across water in such a ship.
• The legal right or franchise that entitles a corporate body or an individual to operate such a service.

Origin

• From Middle English ferien ("to carry, convey, convey in a boat"), from Old English ferian ("to carry, convey, bear, bring, lead, conduct, betake oneself to, be versed in, depart, go"), from Proto-West Germanic *farjan, from Proto-Germanic *farjaną ("to make or let go, transfer, ferry"), from Proto-Indo-European *per- ("to bring or carry over, transfer, pass through").
• Cognate with German dialectal feren, fähren, Danish færge ("to ferry"), Swedish färja ("to ferry"), Icelandic ferja ("to ferry"), Old Norse ferja. Related to fare.