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ferry

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fer⋅ry

[fer-ee] noun, plural -ries, verb, -ried, -ry⋅ing.
–noun
1. a commercial service with terminals and boats for transporting persons, automobiles, etc., across a river or other comparatively small body of water.
2. a ferryboat.
3. a service for flying airplanes over a particular route, esp. the delivery of airplanes to an overseas purchaser or base of operations.
4. the legal right to ferry passengers, cargo, etc., and to charge for the service.
–verb (used with object)
5. to carry or convey back and forth over a fixed route in a boat or plane.
6. to fly (an airplane) over a particular route, esp. for delivery.
–verb (used without object)
7. to go in a ferry.

Origin:
bef. 1150; ME ferien, OE ferian to carry; c. ON ferja, Goth farjan; akin to fare
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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fer·ry   (fěr'ē)   
v.   fer·ried, fer·ry·ing, fer·ries

v.   tr.
  1. Nautical

    1. To transport (people, vehicles, or goods) by boat across a body of water.

    2. To cross (a body of water) by a ferry.

    3. To deliver (a vehicle, especially an aircraft) under its own power to its eventual user.

    4. To transport (people or goods) by vehicle, especially by aircraft.

    1. To deliver (a vehicle, especially an aircraft) under its own power to its eventual user.

    2. To transport (people or goods) by vehicle, especially by aircraft.

v.   intr.
To cross a body of water on or as if on a ferry.
n.   pl. fer·ries
  1. Nautical

    1. A ferryboat.

    2. A place where passengers or goods are transported across a body of water, such as a river or bay, by a ferryboat.

  2. A franchise or legal right to operate a ferrying service for a fee.

  3. A service and route for delivering an aircraft under its own power to its eventual user.


[Middle English ferien, from Old English ferian; see per-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ferry  (v.)
O.E. ferian "to carry, transport," from P.Gmc. *farjanan, from PIE *por- "going, passage." Related to fare (v.). The n. is c.1425, perhaps earlier and from O.N. ferju- "passage across water," ult. from the same Gmc. root. The modern n. use (1590) is a shortening of ferry boat (c.1440).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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