defer

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɪˈfɜː(ɹ)/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(r)

Etymology 1

From Old French differer, from Latin differre.

Verb

defer (third-person singular simple present defers, present participle deferring, simple past and past participle deferred)

  1. (transitive) To delay or postpone; especially to postpone induction into military service.
    • Shakespeare
      Defer the spoil of the city until night.
    • 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 3, in Frankenstein‎:
      My departure for Ingolstadt, which had been deferred by these events, was now again determined upon.
  2. (American football) After winning the opening coin toss, to postpone until the start of the second half a team's choice of whether to kick off or receive (and to allow the opposing team to make this choice at the start of the first half).
  3. (intransitive) To delay, to wait.
    • Milton
      God […] will not long defer / To vindicate the glory of his name.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

defer (third-person singular simple present defers, present participle deferring, simple past and past participle deferred)

  1. (law) To submit to the opinion or desire of another in respect to their judgment or authority.
    • Francis Bacon
      Hereupon the commissioners […] deferred the matter to the Earl of Northumberland.
    • 1899, Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, section 2
      "Well, I must defer to your judgment. You are captain," he said with marked civility.
  2. To render, to offer.
    • Brevint
      worship deferred to the Virgin
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Anagrams

Latin

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈdeː.fer/, [ˈdeː.fɛr]

Verb

dēfer

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of dēferō
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