ferry

== English == === 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 Dutch veren (“to ferry”), German dialectal feren, fähren (“to row, sail”), Danish færge (“to ferry”), Faroese, Icelandic ferja (“to ferry”), Norwegian Bokmål ferge, ferje (“ferry”), Norwegian Nynorsk ferja, ferje, ferju (“to ferry”), Swedish färja (“to ferry”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (farjan, “to sail, row”). Related to fare. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɛɹi/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈfeɹi/ Homophone: fairy (only in accents with the Mary–marry–merry merger) Rhymes: -ɛɹi === Verb === ferry (third-person singular simple present ferries, present participle ferrying, simple past and past participle ferried) (transitive) To carry; transport; convey. (transitive) To move someone or something from one place to another, usually repeatedly. (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. (intransitive) To pass over water in a boat or by ferry. ==== Derived terms ==== === Noun === ferry (plural ferries) (nautical) A boat or ship used to transport people, smaller vehicles and goods from one port to another, usually on a regular schedule. Hypernyms: boat, ship < watercraft < vessel < vehicle < conveyance Coordinate terms: water bus, water taxi Near-synonym: ferryboat A place where passengers are transported across water in such a ship. The service constituted by this watercraft's operation; the business (company) that operates such a service. The legal right or franchise that entitles a corporate body or an individual to operate such a service: a right of ferry. granted a ferry to ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === boat ship === Anagrams === Freyr, Fryer, fryer, refry == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from English ferry. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /fɛ.ʁi/ ~ /fe.ʁi/ === Noun === ferry m (plural ferries or ferrys) ferry ==== Derived terms ==== car-ferry == Portuguese == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English ferry. === Pronunciation === === Noun === ferry m (plural ferries) ferry (boat) Synonym: ferryboat === References === === Further reading === “ferry”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English ferry. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈferi/ [ˈfe.ri] Rhymes: -eri Syllabification: fe‧rry === Noun === ferry m (plural ferrys or ferries) alternative spelling of ferri ==== Usage notes ==== According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed. === Further reading === “ferry”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025