Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ferry
Fer′ry
(fĕr′ry̆)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Ferried
(-rĭd)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Ferrying
.] [OE.
ferien
to convey, AS. ferian
, from faran
to go; akin to Icel. ferja
to ferry, Goth. farjan
to sail. See Fare
.] 1.
To carry or transport over a river, strait, or other narrow water, in a boat.
Fer′ry
,Verb.
I.
To pass over water in a boat or by a ferry.
They
Both to and fro.
ferry
over this Lethean soundBoth to and fro.
Milton.
Fer′ry
,Noun.
pl.
Ferries
(#)
. 1.
A place where persons or things are carried across a river, arm of the sea, etc., in a ferryboat.
It can pass the
ferry
backward into light. Milton.
To row me o’er the
ferry
. Campbell.
2.
A vessel in which passengers and goods are conveyed over narrow waters; a ferryboat; a wherry.
3.
A franchise or right to maintain a vessel for carrying passengers and freight across a river, bay, etc., charging tolls.
Ferry bridge
, a ferryboat adapted in its structure for the transfer of railroad trains across a river or bay.
– Ferry railway
. See under
Railway
.Webster 1828 Edition
Ferry
FER'RY
,Verb.
T.
To carry or transport over a river, strait or other water, in a boat. We ferry men, horses, carriages, over rivers, for a moderate fee or price called fare or ferriage.
FER'RY
,Verb.
I.
FER'RY
, n.1.
A boat or small vessel in which passengers and goods are conveyed over rivers or other narrow waters; sometimes called a wherry. This application of the word is, I believe, entirely obsolete, at least in America.2.
The place or passage where boats pass over water to convey passengers.3.
The right of transporting passengers over a lake or stream. A.B. owns the ferry at Windsor. [In New England, this word is used in the two latter senses.]