Etymologically
Log in

defer

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word defer

English has two verbs spelled defer: one meaning "to put off", from Latin differre, and one meaning "to yield", from Latin dēferre.[1][2][3][4]

Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪˈfɜː/[5]
  • US: /dɪˈfɝ/[5]

defer1 put off, postpone

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1382 Wycliffite Bible
Borrowed from
Old French differer via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-
Etymology tree of defer1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin differo
English defer
From the same root · defer1
Latin differens ← differo
Latin dilatio ← differo

Etymology

The verb meaning to postpone is inherited from Middle English differren, also deferren,[6][2][3] borrowed from Old French differer[2][7][8] and directly borrowed from Latin differō (“to carry apart, scatter; to put off, delay; to differ”).[3][6][9] The Latin verb is formed from dis- (“apart”) and ferō (“to carry, bear”),[3][1][2] from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry”).[3] It was originally the same word as differ;[9][2][3][7] the two were often spelled alike until the 17th century,[7] and the spelling with “def-” took hold as the stress moved to the second syllable,[2] perhaps partly under the influence of delay.[7][3][10] The past participle of the Latin verb, dīlātus, is the source of dilatory.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

To put off an action to a later time; to delay or postpone: 1382, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible.[9] Barnhart finds differren about 1375, and the spelling deferren about 1382.[2] The MED quotes Trevisa's translation of Higden (before 1387), where the Danes "differred" making amends to the bishop.[6]

Semantic evolution

Several Middle English senses did not last: "to put on one side" in Gower (1393), and in Scots texts "to drive out of one's wits" and "to withdraw oneself".[9][11] Putting off a person, rather than an action, to a later occasion was current from about 1384 to 1709.[9] Wasting time by delay was a sense from 1382 to 1633,[9] and Merriam-Webster still records it as obsolete.[4] From 1509 the verb was used of putting off a matter or question,[9] and Johnson (1755) gave "to withhold; to delay" as its first sense.[12] Merriam-Webster also records deferred payment of a debt and the postponing of a person's induction into military service.[4]

Timeline

  • 1382 – to put off an action to a later time; to delay, procrastinate.[9]
  • c. 1384 – to put off a person to a later occasion (obsolete by 1709).[9]
  • 1393 – to put on one side, in Gower (obsolete).[9]
  • 1509 – to put off a matter or question.[9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To put off something to a later time; to postpone: The committee deferred its decision until the spring.[4][13][9]
  2. To postpone a person's induction into military service.[4]
  3. To delay acting; to procrastinate.[4][9]
  4. (obsolete, 1382–1633) To waste time in delay.[9][4]

Word family

  • deferrable
  • deferrer
  • deferral
  • deferment
  • tax-deferred

defer2 yield, submit

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1447
Borrowed from
Old French deferer via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-
Etymology tree of defer2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin defero
English defer
From the same root · defer2
Latin delatio ← defero
Latin delator ← defero

Etymology

The verb meaning to yield is inherited from Middle English deferen,[6][3] borrowed from Old French deferer (“to yield, comply”)[3][8][9] and directly borrowed from Latin dēferō (“to carry away, transfer, grant; to refer a matter”).[6][3][2] The Latin verb is formed from dē- (“down, away”) and ferō (“to carry”),[3][1][2] from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry”).[3] Merriam-Webster gives the source as defferer, and the OED records the French verb, later déférer, from the 14th century.[4][9] The MED notes that the Latin verb was often confused with differō already in Latin, and in Middle English it was often spelled differren.[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To refer a matter to someone for decision: before 1447, according to Barnhart.[2] The MED's first quotation, from the Alphabet of Tales (about 1450), translates Latin defert and already means to show deference.[6]

Semantic evolution

Ayto explains that the idea of submission arose from referring, or "carrying", a matter to someone else,[1] and Weekley that the usual modern sense comes from the reflexive use, to submit oneself.[10] In Scots law records of 1479–90 the verb meant to submit oneself to someone.[9][11] Between 1490 and 1691 it also meant to refer a matter for judgement.[9] In the 16th century it also meant to offer or proffer, as in defer an oath, after French déférer un serment.[9][7] The current sense, to yield in opinion or judgement to someone, dates from 1686.[9][7] The derivatives deference (before 1660) and deferential (19th century) belong to this verb.[2][7]

Timeline

  • before 1447 – to refer a matter to someone.[2]
  • 1479 – in Scots, to submit oneself to someone (obsolete by 1490).[9]
  • 1490 – to submit a matter for judgement (obsolete by 1691).[9]
  • c. 1551 – to offer or proffer; to tender an oath.[9]
  • 1686 – to yield in opinion or judgement to someone.[9][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To yield or submit to another's wishes, opinion or authority, usually with to: The junior doctors deferred to the surgeon's experience.[4][13][9]
  2. To refer or submit something to another for a decision.[4][9]
  3. (obsolete, c. 1551–1859) To offer or proffer; in law, to tender an oath for acceptance.[9][4]

Word family

  • deference

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Defer.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/defer. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·