refer

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /rɪˈfɜː/, /rəˈfɜː/, US /rɪˈfɝː/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English referren, borrowed from Old French referer and directly from Latin referre (“to carry back”),^[2][3][4] from re- “back” and ferre “to carry”,^[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *bher- (“to carry”).^[2] It is related to reference, referee, referendum, confer and bear.^[4][6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To trace back, attribute or assign something to a person or cause: about 1374 in the OED, about 1380 in Chaucer's Boethius in Barnhart.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

To assign to a class is also from about 1374.^[7] To commit a matter to an authority for decision is from the mid-15th century,^[2][4] and to direct someone to a book or person for information from about 1600.^[2] To allude to, have relation to, is from the 14th century.^[4] Reference is from the 16th century,^[4][3] referee from the mid-16th century, not used in sport until the mid-19th,^[6] and referendum from the 19th century.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – to attribute.^[7]
• mid-15th century – to commit to an authority.^[2]
• c. 1600 – to direct to a source.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To mention or speak about someone or something.
2. To send someone to another person or place for help or information.
3. To look at a book or source for information: refer to a dictionary.
4. To relate or apply to something.
5. To pass a matter to an authority for a decision.
6. To attribute something to a cause or source.

Word family

• referable
• referral
• referrer
• misrefer
• referee
• referent
• cross-refer

Related words

• reference
• relate
• relative
• relation
• relationship
• referendum
• confer
• defer
• bear

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press