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ferry

Pronunciation: /ˈfɛɹi/

The English word “ferry” has 8 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To carry; transport; convey.
  2. To move someone or something from one place to another, usually repeatedly.
  3. 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.
  4. To pass over water in a boat or by ferry.

noun

  1. A boat or ship used to transport people, smaller vehicles and goods from one port to another, usually on a regular schedule.
  2. A place where passengers are transported across water in such a ship.
  3. The service constituted by this watercraft's operation; the business (company) that operates such a service.
  4. The legal right or franchise that entitles a corporate body or an individual to operate such a service: a right of ferry.

Etymology

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…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.