ferryman

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a man who operates a ferry or carries passengers across water by boat

   The ferryman guided the passengers safely across the river before dark.

2. 2
   noun

   the ferryman of the dead in mythology, especially Charon in Greek tradition

   In the myth, the ferryman Charon carries souls across the river Styx.

A compound of ferry and man. The occupational word names the person who works a ferry; literary use often evokes Charon, the ferryman who transports the dead in Greek mythology.

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