ferry

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: fer=ry

CIDE DICTIONARY

ferry, v. t. [OE. ferien to convey, AS. ferian, from faran to go; akin to Icel. ferja to ferry, Goth. farjan to sail. See Fare.].

•  To carry or transport over a river, strait, or other narrow water, in a boat.  [1913 Webster]
•  To convey back and forth regularly between two points in a vehicle; as, part of her day was spent ferrying the kids to and from school.  [PJC]

ferry, v. i. 

 To pass over water in a boat or by a ferry.  [1913 Webster]
"They ferry over this Lethean sound
Both to and fro."  [1913 Webster]

ferry, n. [OE. feri; akin to Icel. ferja, Sw. färja, Dan. færge, G. fähre. See Ferry, v. t.].

•  A place where persons or things are carried across a river, arm of the sea, etc., in a ferryboat.  [1913 Webster]

  "It can pass the ferry backward into light."  [1913 Webster]

  "To row me o'er the ferry."  [1913 Webster]
•  A vessel in which passengers and goods are conveyed over narrow waters; a ferryboat; a wherry.  [1913 Webster]
•  A franchise or right to maintain a vessel for carrying passengers and freight across a river, bay, etc., charging tolls.  [1913 Webster]

Ferry bridge, a ferryboat adapted in its structure for the transfer of railroad trains across a river or bay. -- Ferry railway. See under Railway.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

ferry, n. & v.
--n. (pl. -ies)
1 a boat or aircraft etc. for conveying passengers and goods, esp. across water and as a regular service.
2 the service itself or the place where it operates.
--v. (-ies, -ied)
1 tr. & intr. convey or go in a boat etc. across water.
2 intr. (of a boat etc.) pass to and fro across water.
3 tr. transport from one place to another, esp. as a regular service.

Derivative

ferryman n. (pl. -men).

Etymology

ME f. ON ferja f. Gmc

THESAURUS

ferry

access, aeroplane, airlift, airplane, aisle, alley, almadia, ambulatory, aperture, arcade, ark, artery, auxiliary, avenue, balloon, barge, be airborne, bear, boat, buck, bus, buss, canoe, cargo boat, cart, cat, catamaran, channel, cloister, coach, cockle, cockleshell, cog, colonnade, communication, conduit, connection, convey, coracle, corridor, covered way, cruise, cruiser, cutter, defile, dinghy, dispatch boat, dray, drift, drifter, dugout, exit, ferryboat, fishing boat, flit, float, fly, ford, funny, gallery, galley, gig, glide, glider, gondola, haul, hop, houseboat, hover, hoy, hump, hydrofoil, hydroplane, inlet, interchange, intersection, ja, jet, jolly, jolly boat, junction, kayak, lane, launch, lifeboat, lighter, longboat, mailer, motorboat, navigate, opening, outboard, outlet, outrigger canoe, overpass, pass, passage, passageway, pilot, pilot boat, pinnace, piragua, pirogue, pontoon, portico, post boat, pram, punt, racer, racing shell, raft, railroad tunnel, randan, rowboat, rowing boat, runabout, sail, sailplane, sampan, scooter, scow, scull, seaplane, shallop, shell, ship, showboat, skiff, sled, sledge, small boat, sneakbox, soar, stimulating, surfboat, take the air, take wing, towboat, traject, trajet, trawlboat, trawler, trimaran, trow, truck, tug, tugboat, tunnel, underpass, van, volplane, wagon, wanigan, whale-gig, whaleboat, wheelbarrow, wherry, wing, yawl, yawl boat

ROGET THESAURUS

ferry

Method

N method, way, manner, wise, gait, form, mode, fashion, tone, guise, modus operandi, MO, procedure, path, road, route, course, line of way, line of road, trajectory, orbit, track, beat, tack, steps, stair, staircase, flight of stairs, ladder, stile, perron, bridge, footbridge, viaduct, pontoon, steppingstone, plank, gangway, drawbridge, pass, ford, ferry, tunnel, pipe, door, gateway, channel, passage, avenue, means of access, approach, adit, artery, lane, loan, alley, aisle, lobby, corridor, back-door, back-stairs, secret passage, covert way, vennel, roadway, pathway, stairway, express, thoroughfare, highway, turnpike, freeway, royal road, coach road, broad highway, King's highway, Queen's highway, beaten track, beaten path, horse road, bridle road, bridle track, bridle path, walk, trottoir, footpath, pavement, flags, sidewalk, crossroad, byroad, bypath, byway, cut, short cut carrefour, private road, occupation road, highways and byways, railroad, railway, tram road, tramway, towpath, causeway, canal, street, speedway, adv, how, in what way, in what manner, by what mode, so, in this way, after this fashion, one way or another, anyhow, somehow or other, by way of, via, in transitu, on the high road to, hae tibi erunt artes.

Transference

N transfer, transference, translocation, elocation, displacement, metastasis, metathesis, removal, remotion, amotion, relegation, deportation, asportation, extradition, conveyance, draft, carrying, carriage, convection, conduction, contagion, transfer, transit, transition, passage, ferry, gestation, portage, porterage, carting, cartage, shoveling, vection, vecture, vectitation, shipment, freight, wafture, transmission, transport, transportation, importation, exportation, transumption, transplantation, translation, shifting, dodging, dispersion, transposition, traction, drift, transferred, drifted, movable, portable, portative, mailable, contagious, from hand to hand, from pillar to post, on the way, by the way, on the road, on the wing, under way, in transit, on course, as one goes, in transitu, en route, chemin faisant, en passant, in mid progress, in mid course.