*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of defer

Originally a variant of (and hence a doublet of) differ; from Middle English differren (“to postpone”), from Old French differer, from Latin differō. Doublet of differ and dilate. See also infer, collate and confer, dela

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To delay or postpone. · to postpone induction into military service. · 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). · To delay, to wait.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Originally a variant of (and hence a doublet of) differ; from Middle English differren (“to postpone”), from Old French differer, from Latin differō. Doublet of differ and dilate. See also infer, collate and confer, delate and defer, relate and refer as well as prelate and prefer among others.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰer-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "differ",
        "notext": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "differ"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "differren",
        "t": "to postpone",
        "id": "to postpone"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English differren (“to postpone”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "differer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French differer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "differō"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin differō"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "differ",
        "3": "dilate"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of differ and dilate"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "differ",
      "differ#English"
    ],
    [
      "differren",
      "differren#Middle_English:_to_postpone"
    ],
    [
      "differer",
      "differer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "differō",
      "differo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "differ",
      "differ#English"
    ],
    [
      "dilate",
      "dilate#English"
    ],
    [
      "infer",
      "infer"
    ],
    [
      "collate",
      "collate"
    ],
    [
      "confer",
      "confer"
    ],
    [
      "delate",
      "delate"
    ],
    [
      "defer",
      "defer#Etymology 2"
    ],
    [
      "relate",
      "relate"
    ],
    [
      "refer",
      "refer"
    ],
    [
      "prelate",
      "prelate"
    ],
    [
      "prefer",
      "prefer"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To delay or postpone.",
        "to postpone induction into military service.",
        "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).",
        "To delay, to wait."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "common",
        "especially",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "aaf492d02b9c8565866e1780c87daae1c4ff0ee4abcb4756bef9c73069b387c8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a9395ff90e7bd10746a88136a5cc8c5f02d368bcba56598964d957b5c6e8085f",
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To submit to the opinion or desire of others in respect to their judgment or authority. · To render, to offer.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From late Middle English differren (“to refer for judgement”), from Middle French déférer, from Latin dēferō. Doublet of delate. See also infer, collate and confer, relate and refer, as well as prelate and prefer among others.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "differren",
        "t": "to refer for judgement",
        "id": "to refer for judgement"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English differren (“to refer for judgement”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "déférer"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French déférer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "dēferō"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin dēferō"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "delate"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of delate"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "differren",
      "differren#Middle_English:_to_refer_for_judgement"
    ],
    [
      "déférer",
      "déférer#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "dēferō",
      "defero#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "delate",
      "delate#English"
    ],
    [
      "infer",
      "infer"
    ],
    [
      "collate",
      "collate"
    ],
    [
      "confer",
      "confer"
    ],
    [
      "relate",
      "relate"
    ],
    [
      "refer",
      "refer"
    ],
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      "prelate"
    ],
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      "prefer"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To submit to the opinion or desire of others in respect to their judgment or authority.",
        "To render, to offer."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "ambitransitive"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for defer →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZGVmZXI