defer
pronunciation
How to pronounce defer in British English:
UK [dɪˈfɜː(r)]
How to pronounce defer in American English:
US [dɪˈfɜːr]
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- Verb:
- hold back to a later time
- submit or yield to another's wish or opinion
Word Origin
- defer
- defer: English has two distinct verbs defer. The one meaning ‘delay’ [14] is ultimately the same words as differ. It comes via Old French differer from Latin differre ‘carry apart, delay’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘apart’ and ferre ‘carry’ (related to English bear). The Latin verb’s past participle, dīlātus, is the source of English dilatory [15]. Defer ‘submit’ [15] comes via Old French deferer from Latin dēferre ‘carry away’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘away’ and ferre.The notion of submission seems to have arisen from an earlier application to referring, or ‘carrying’, a matter to someone else.=> bear, dilatory
- defer (v.1)
- "to delay," late 14c., differren, deferren, from Old French differer (14c.), from Latin differre "carry apart, scatter, disperse;" also "be different, differ;" also "defer, put off, postpone," (see differ). Etymologically identical with differ; the spelling and pronunciation differentiated from 15c., perhaps partly by association of this word with delay.
- defer (v.2)
- "yield," mid-15c., from Middle French déférer (14c.) "to yield, comply," from Latin deferre "carry away, transfer, grant," from de- "down, away" (see de-) + ferre "carry" (see infer). Main modern sense is from meaning "refer (a matter) to someone," which also was in Latin.
Example
- 1. You can either delegate them , or defer them .
- 2. Multinationals can generally defer paying tax to their home governments by retaining profit earned abroad in their foreign units .
- 3. In practice , most japanese investors defer to managers .
- 4. There are moves in congress to repeal or defer the epa 's power to regulate greenhouse gases .
- 5. Nomura has denied any involvement in past actions by olympus to defer losses on its securities investments .