▪ I. ferry, n.1
(ˈfɛrɪ)
Forms: 5 ferrye, 5–6 fery(e, 6 ferrie, 5– ferry.
[f. the vb.; its late appearance seems to exclude the supposition that it is a. ON. ferja of equivalent formation. Cf. Du. veer, MHG. vere, ver, mod.G. fähre in same sense.]
† 1. A passage or crossing. Obs.
| c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xl. 143 At þe Ferry of þe Hill þai mete. |
2. esp. A passage or place where boats pass over a river, etc. to transport passengers and goods.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 156/2 Fery over a watyr. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 285 Besyd Landoris the ferrye our thai past. 1535 Coverdale Judg. iii. 28 They folowed him, & wanne y⊇ ferye of Iordane. 1538 Leland Itin. I. 31 There be 4..Placis namid as ferys apon the Water of Lindis. 1611 Coryat Crudities 20 The ferry where we were transported into the Ile of France. 1775 Wyndham Tour Wales 42 Just above the ferry is the seat of Mr. Vernon. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan II. 95 We blow..when we come nigh the taverns..or post offices, or ferries. |
3. a. Provision for the conveyance of passengers, etc. by boat from one shore to the other.
| c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn viii. 33 The knight of the Ferry attended to receiue him. 1700 Mod. Law Reports iii. 294 The Defendant had petitioned the king to destroy the Ferry. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr Hist. Servia x. 193 Not to interfere with the ferry of Poscharewaz. 1892 Gardiner Student's Hist. Eng. 20 A ferry was established where London Bridge now stands. |
| fig. 1850 Carlyle Latter-d. Pamph. v. 32 We have all of us our ferries in this world. |
b. = ferry-boat.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. vi. 19 She soon to hand Her ferry brought. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. iv. 53 Bring them I pray thee..to the common Ferrie Which trades to Venice. 1701 Lond. Gaz. No. 3722/1 The French had sunk divers Ferries and other Boats in the River. 1798 R. P. Tour in Wales 24 (MS.) We here engaged a ferry over the Wye. 1951 Oxf. Jun. Encycl. IV. 147 (caption) Dover–Dunkirk train-ferry in Dover docks. The opening through which the trains run on to the ferry can be seen on the left. 1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 85 Ferry,..any boat employed in ferrying goods and passengers. |
c. Used allusively with reference to Charon's ferry (see
Charon);
to take the ferry: to die.
| 1895 G. Meredith Amaz. Marr. xxviii, The Lethean ferry-boatload. 1928 Galsworthy Swan Song iii. vi. 266 What are you going to do with your pictures when you take the ferry? Leave them to the nation? |
d. Used jocularly to describe the passage between England and New York, Australia, or New Zealand.
| 1902 C. J. C. Hyne Mr. Horrocks Purser 57 They see funny things on the Atlantic ferry which rich young men get mixed up in. 1907 Daily Chron. 11 June 10/4 Nearly all the Australian States are now offering assisted passages to selected immigrants... Why should not the Imperial Government take a hand in this, and in certain cases contribute the other {pstlg}6, and thus realise the ‘free ferry’? 1930 C. E. Lee (title) The Blue Riband: the romance of the Atlantic ferry. |
e. Of aircraft: a flight for carrying goods or persons from one place to another,
esp. one of a series of flights on a regular course; also applied to the aircraft itself. Of spacecraft: a module that can be separated from the main craft,
e.g. for the final descent to the surface of the moon; so
ferry rocket. Freq.
attrib. and
Comb.| 1917 Flying 28 Nov. 296/1 Should you chance to live in eastern or south eastern counties you may see them going over..flown by ferry pilots. 1933 Meccano Mag. Nov. 845/3 If a machine is intended purely for joy riding and short ferry services, arrangement can be made for an eight-seater to be provided. 1939 Flying 1 July 4/1 Applications are being invited from those wishing to take part in these long-distance ferry flights. 1939 Flight 9 Nov. 373/1 The chances that an enemy machine might masquerade as a ferry are very small. Ibid. 373/2 The senior pilots of a ferry unit must remember the layout, characteristics, and fuel systems of as many as ten or a dozen machines. 1940 Ibid. 28 Mar. 282/1 Groups were attached to the two Service ferry pools and these groups worked happily. Ibid., Those experts in all⁓type ferry flying, the R.A.F. pilots. 1942 Times Weekly 9 Sept. 9/1 Filling petrol tanks of United States ferry planes at airports newly laid out in jungles or deserts. 1943 Jane's All World's Aircraft, 1942 29 a/2 In June, 1941, the R.A.F. formed the Ferry Command to take charge of all trans-Atlantic deliveries by air. Ibid. 30 a/1 The West African ferry route to the Middle East is also used by the communications aircraft on the United Nations. 1943 Times Weekly 19 May 8/2 A pool of ferry pilots..flew aircraft of all types right across Africa to Khartoum and Cairo. 1951 A. C. Clarke Exploration Space 78 At the end of these manœuvres, which would occupy only a few hours, it would be back in a stable, circular orbit waiting to be refuelled and serviced, and the crew could be taken down to Earth by one of the winged ‘ferry’ rockets. 1960 F. Gaynor Dict. Aerospace 90 Ferry rocket, the final step of the planned piloted space vehicle, designed for transporting personnel between earth and the terminal orbit. 1969 Times 3 June Suppl. p. iii/8 The two-stage module—the disposable landing ferry that takes the astronauts from their circling space⁓craft to the lunar surface—is at the heart of the American plans to land two men on the moon this summer. |
4. Law. The right of ferrying men and animals across a river, etc., and of levying toll for so doing.
| 1721 Termes de la Ley 344 Ferry, is a Liberty by Prescription, or the Kings Grant. 1708 Shower Reports 257 If a Ferry were granted at this Day, he that accepts such Grant, is bound to keep a Boat for the Publick Good. 1843 Meeson & Welsby Exchequer Reports X. 161 The defendants..were possessed of a certain ferry across..the River Mersey. 1862 Law Reports XXXI. Common Pl. 247 The plaintiffs are the lessees of an ancient ferry. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. a. Chiefly attributive, as
ferry-boy,
ferry-craft,
ferry-place,
ferry-pole,
ferry-receipts,
ferry-service,
ferry-warden,
ferry-way.
| 1812 Examiner 21 Dec. 816/2 James Dean, a *ferry-boy. |
| c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1306 For *fery craft na fraucht he thocht to crawe. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 156/2 *Fery place. 1665 Pepys Diary (1879) III. 193 Mr. Carteret and I to the ferry-place at Greenwich. 1806 Sporting Mag. XXVII. 173 The ferry-place at Portsea. |
| a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal 23 There are..A *ferry-poal, and frogs in Stygian waves. |
| 1858 J. B. Norton Topics 186 The surplus *ferry receipts..are..given up by the State. |
| 1892 Pall Mall G. 23 Feb. 3/3 It is proposed to build a pier here, and..to establish a *ferry service. |
| 1576 Act 18 Eliz. c. 10 §10 The said *Ferry-warden. |
| 1884 Harper's Mag. Oct. 809/1 The town voted to discontinue the *ferryway and the ferry. |
b. Special comb., as
ferry-bridge (see
quot.);
ferry-flat,
U.S. a flat boat used for crossing (and sometimes descending) rivers;
ferry-house, the residence of a ferry-man, also
attrib.;
† ferry-look (see
quot.);
ferry-louper, one who has crossed from the mainland,
Orkn.;
ferry-master,
U.S. a person in charge of a ferry; also, one who collects the tolls at a ferry (
Cent. Dict.);
ferry-nab (see
quot.);
ferry-railway (see
quot.). Also
ferry-boat, ferry-man.
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Ferry-bridge, a form of ferry-boat in which the railway-train moves on to the elevated deck, is transported across the water and then lands upon the other side. |
| 1828 Flint Mississippi Valley I. 230 The *ferry flat is a scow-boat. |
| 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxi, There was a light in the *ferry-house window. 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden II. 329 A ferryhouse stretches out like a sickle in the blue sea. |
| 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. I. 153 [The keeper of this ferry has the right] to dredge for Oysters within the compass of his *Ferry-look which extends..60 Fathoms, on each Side of the Castle. |
| 1868 D. Gorrie Summ. & Wint. Orkneys iv. 143 This misguided man was a *ferry-louper. |
| 1883 All Year Round 19 May 465 Shouts [came] for a boat, as if from the *ferry-nab, or point, on the other side. |
| 1847 Knight Dict. Mech., *Ferry-railway, one whose track is on the bottom of the watercourse and whose carriage has an elevated deck which supports the train. |
▪ II. † ˈferry, n.2 Cookery.
Obs. [Etymology unknown; OF. had ‘pain feré’, explained by Godef. as ‘bread for a festival’.] More fully,
caudle ferry: A kind of spiced drink made with wine and eggs. Also
app. some kind of sauce.
| ? c 1390 Form Cury xli. 27 Cawdel ferry. Take floer of Payndemayn and gode wyne, etc. c 1475 Noble Bk. Cookry (1882) 32 Cawdelle ferry. Tak clene yolks of egge welle betene, etc. 1504 in Leland Collect. VI. 21 Carpe in ferry. |
▪ III. ferry, v. (
ˈfɛrɪ)
Forms: 1
ferian,
feriᵹ(e)an, 2–3
ferien, 4–5
fery,
fere, 6
ferrie, 6–
ferry. Also 3–4
verie(n, (5
veryen).
[OE. fęrian = OHG. feren, ON. ferja, Goth. farjan:—OTeut. *farjan, f. far-o{supm}: see fare n.] 1. trans. To carry, convey, transport, take from one place to another.
| Beowulf 333 (Gr.) Hwanon feriᵹeað ᵹe fætte scyldas? a 1000 Elene 108 (Gr.) Heht..wiᵹend..þæt haliᵹe treo him beforan ferian. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 111 Ȝif he ȝeher-godne mon fereð to buriene. c 1205 Lay. 10559 He uerde forð in sæ uereden hine vðen. a 1300 Seven Sins 42 in E.E.P. (1862) 19 Þe fend him deriiþ . and is soul to helle he feriiþ. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1790 Þe kyng..watz kaȝt by þe heles, Feryed out bi þe fete. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 82 We..ferrie it to the deuil. 1970 H. Waugh Finish me Off (1971) 163 Then we warn the doormen and the super on her building that it wouldn't look good for them to ferry customers to her apartment. |
2. a. esp. To transport or convey over water (now only over a stream, canal, etc., formerly also over the sea) in a boat or ship, etc. Often
to ferry (a person, etc.) over or across.
| a 1000 Andreas 293 (Gr.) We þe..willað feriᵹan freolice ofer fisces bæð. a 1000 Riddles xv. 7 (Gr.) Mec..mere⁓hengest fereð ofer flodas. 1587 F. James in Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) I. 199 For ferrienge oure horses..from Lambeth..6d. 1602 W. Fulbecke 2nd Pt. Parall. 21 In this case without ferrying ouer the horse there was nothing due vnto the bargeman. 1609 Heywood Brit. Troy v. xi. 6 Charon is tyr'd, with ferring soules to hell. 1701 Lond. Gaz. No. 3722/2 Before night almost half of them were ferried over. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 38 They themselves once ferried o'er the wave..are emancipate and loosed. 1822 Hazlitt Table-t. II. iii. 45 A girl who had ferried me over the Severn. 1877 C. M. Yonge Cameos IV. i. 15 He was ferried to the French bank. |
| absol. 1457 Nottingham Rec. II. 365 Peid to Tomas Smyth, for fereyng v. days at y⊇ Bryges. 1843 Marryat M. Violet xliv, The owner of a ferry..ferries only when he chooses. |
b. To work (a boat, etc.)
across or
over.
| 1771 E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 92 The rotten canoe, that he had however contrived to ferry over. 1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) II. xv. 281 He promised a napoleon to every boat which was ferried across. |
c. Of a vessel: To serve as a ferry-boat over.
| 1872 W. F. Butler Great Lone Land iv. (1875) 55 A steamer ferries the broad swift-running stream. |
d. To fly (an aircraft), or to transport by air, from one place to another,
esp. on some regular route, as from a factory to an airfield.
| 1921 Flight XIII. 620/2 Both the Aircraft Disposal Company, and the Bristol people, are having difficulty in finding pilots to ferry these machines across to Spain. Ibid. 662/2 He is..‘ferrying’ machines from Liverpool to Croydon. 1932 R. Mahachek Airplane Pilot's Man. 353 Ferrying, delivering an airplane to another point by flying it. 1940 Flight 28 Mar. 282/1 Women pilots..were..attached to a certain factory for the ferrying of trainers. 1943 Times Weekly 19 May 8/2 Gradually the ferrying route came into operation. 1958 Daily Mail 18 July 1/1 Israel's permission to ferry troop-carriers through her air-space was not at first fully cleared. |
3. a. intr. for refl. To convey oneself, go; now only, to pass over water in a boat or by a ferry. Of a boat: To pass to and fro.
| a 1000 Byrhtnoth 179 (Gr.) Þæt min sawul to þe siðian mote..mid friðe ferian. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 178 Crist seide to hem verie we over þe water. c 1450 Lonelich Grail l. 176 In to here schippe forto take him, forto veryen ouer that lake. 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 30 She sayling to Styx, thow ferriest ouer to Phlegeton. 1600 Holland Livy v. i. (1609) 1383 note, They that would goe to it, used to ferry over in small punts or whirries. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 631 Upon these waters doe ferry fiftie thousand Boats..to serve the use of the Citie. 1787 Burns Verse, When death's dark stream I ferry o'er. 1833 Lamb Elia (1860) 267 It irks me to think that..thou shouldst ferry over..in crazy Stygian wherry. 1836 T. Hook G. Gurney III. 333, I intended to remain until the weather cleared before I ferried back. 1887 L. Oliphant Episodes 72, I ferried across it. |
† b. fig. to ferry over: to pass over, pretermit.
| 1477 J. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 787 III. 175, I may not wryght longe, wherffor I ffery over all thyngs tyll I may awayte on you my selff. |