ferry

Etymology

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 (“to row, sail”), Danish færge (“to ferry”), Swedish färja (“to ferry”), Icelandic ferja (“to ferry”), Old Norse ferja. Related to fare.

verb

1. (transitive) To carry; transport; convey.
   Trucks plowed through the water to ferry flood victims to safety.
   We ferried our stock in U-Haul trailers, and across the months, as we purchased more cowflesh from the Goat Man — meat vanishing into the ether again and again, as if into some quarkish void — we became familiar enough with Sloat and his daughter to learn that her name was Flozelle, and to visit with them about matters other than stock. 2007, Rick Bass, The Lives of Rocks
2. (transitive) To move someone or something from one place to another, usually repeatedly.
   A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays. […] This would also let high-speed trains skirt cities as moving platforms ferry passengers to and from the city centre. 2013-06-01, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
   Being a good waiter takes more than the ability to ferry plates of food around a restaurant.
3. (transitive) 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. (intransitive) To pass over water in a boat or by ferry.

noun

1. A ship used to transport people, smaller vehicles and goods from one port to another, usually on a regular schedule.
   To reach Mui Wo, a small town on Lantau Island, you take a ferry from central Hong Kong, and after a 30-minute ride arrive at a small square with a car park and bus stops blackened by fumes. November 22, 2019, Ilaria Maria Sala, “After the Protests: How Will Hong Kong Vote?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-11-22, Opinion
2. A place where passengers are transported across water in such a ship.
   to row us o'er the ferry 1809, Thomas Campbell, Lord Ullin's Daughter
   She walked into the waiting-room of the ferry, and up the stairs, and by a marvellous swift, little run, caught the ferry-boat that was just going out. c. 1900, O. Henry, The Ferry of Unfulfilment
3. The legal right or franchise that entitles a corporate body or an individual to operate such a service.