Ferry Meaning

/ˈfɛɹi/
B1

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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verbTo carry; transport; convey.

verbTo move someone or something from one place to another, usually repeatedly.

We took a ferry from the island to the mainland.
We had a rough crossing on an old ferry.
CEFR Practice Quiz
We took the early morning ____ to cross the river to the island.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We took the ____ across the bay to reach the island, enjoying the beautiful views of the city skyline.

The verb is from Middle English ferien (“to carry, convey”), from Old English ferian, from Proto-West Germanic *farjan, from Proto-Germanic *farjaną, which see for cognates. This verb is the causative of Proto-Germanic *faraną (“to go, travel”), whence English fare; ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *per-. The noun is from Middle English ferie (“place of crossing, ferry”), which was derived from the above verb under influence of Old Norse ferja, from Proto-Germanic *farjǭ, itself also from the verb. False cognate of Latin ferō.

"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:
"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 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
"They ferry over this Lethean sound / Both to and fro." — 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"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." — 2019 November 22, Ilaria Maria Sala, “After the Protests: How Will Hong Kong Vote?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Nov 2019, Opinion:
"It can pass the ferry backward into light." — 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC:

Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words

CEFR Practice Quiz
We took the early morning ____ to cross the river to the island.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We took the ____ across the bay to reach the island, enjoying the beautiful views of the city skyline.

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