defer

1
[ dih-fur ]
/ dɪˈfɜr /

verb (used with object), de·ferred, de·fer·ring.

to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time: The decision has been deferred by the board until next week.
to exempt temporarily from induction into military service.

verb (used without object), de·ferred, de·fer·ring.

to put off action; delay.

Origin of defer

1
1325–75; Middle English deferren, variant of differren to differ

synonym study for defer

1. Defer, delay, postpone imply keeping something from occurring until a future time. To defer is to decide to do something later on: to defer making a payment. To delay is sometimes equivalent to defer, but usually it is to act in a dilatory manner and thus lay something aside: to delay one's departure. To postpone a thing is to put it off to (usually) some particular time in the future, with the intention of beginning or resuming it then: to postpone an election. 3. procrastinate.

historical usage of defer

Defer “to put off, delay” comes from Middle English deferen, differren “to put off, delay, be different, differentiate, refer a matter for decision; defer to, show respect or deference to,” from Old French def(f)erer, dif(f)erer “to have different qualities, be different, be dissimilar,” from Latin differre “to carry away, carry in different directions, differ, postpone, adjourn.” Differre is composed of the prefix dif- (a variant of dis- used before f ) “apart, asunder” and the simple verb ferre “to carry, bear.”
Defer and differ were originally the same word, but spellings with def- for etymologically correct dif-, which first appeared in the 15th century, have become standard in part because of the sense “to put off, delay” (absent in differ ), in part because of the accent being on the root (second) syllable, and in part through association with delay .
The meaning “to exempt temporarily from military service” first appeared in 1941.

OTHER WORDS FROM defer

de·fer·rer, noun

Definition for defer (2 of 2)

defer 2
[ dih-fur ]
/ dɪˈfɜr /

verb (used without object), de·ferred, de·fer·ring.

to yield respectfully in judgment or opinion (usually followed by to): We all defer to him in these matters.

verb (used with object), de·ferred, de·fer·ring.

to submit for decision; refer: We defer questions of this kind to the president.

Origin of defer

2
1400–50; late Middle English deferren < Latin dēferre to carry from or down, report, accuse, equivalent to dē- de- + ferre to bear1

historical usage of defer

Defer comes from Old French def(f)erer “to yield to, comply with,” from Latin dēferre “to carry, carry down, convey, report, inform, inform against, denounce.” Dēferre is a compound of the prefix and preposition dē-, dē, indicating privation, removal, and separation, and the simple verb ferre “to carry, bear” ( dēferre has no sense “to yield respectfully”). The sense “to yield respectfully, pay deference to,” which developed from the earlier sense “to submit for decision,” dates from the second half of the 17th century.

Example sentences from the Web for defer

British Dictionary definitions for defer (1 of 2)

defer 1
/ (dɪˈfɜː) /

verb -fers, -ferring or -ferred

(tr) to delay or cause to be delayed until a future time; postpone

Derived forms of defer

deferrable or deferable, adjective deferrer, noun

Word Origin for defer

C14: from Old French differer to be different, postpone; see differ

British Dictionary definitions for defer (2 of 2)

defer 2
/ (dɪˈfɜː) /

verb -fers, -ferring or -ferred

(intr foll by to) to yield (to) or comply (with) the wishes or judgments of another I defer to your superior knowledge

Word Origin for defer

C15: from Latin dēferre, literally: to bear down, from de- + ferre to bear