ferryman
Americannoun
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Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ferryman
First recorded in 1425–75, ferryman is from the late Middle English word feryman. See ferry, man
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kentridge likens the captain to the ferryman, Charon, in Greek mythology transporting the dead across the river Styx to the underworld.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2025
Roy Truman, a descendant of Edward Smith, the captain of the Titanic, is head ferryman of the Butley Foot Ferry.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2024
This week, a different anticyclone, named for Hades’ ferryman, also drifted from North Africa toward Europe’s outer-region nations, consigning Italy to crisis mode.
From Slate • Jul. 20, 2023
An anticyclone nicknamed Charon - who in Greek mythology was the ferryman of the dead - could cause Europe to break its highest recorded temperature of 48.8C, possibly on the Italian island of Sardinia.
From Reuters • Jul. 17, 2023
A ferryman purchased from a neighbor in 1767, he was listed as the chief cook by 1787 in plantation records.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.