Etymologically
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refer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 01:42. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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