DEFER
What does "DEFER" mean?
To put off an action until later, or to yield respectfully to another's judgment.
Meanings
- To postpone or delay something to a later time. They decided to defer the decision until the next meeting.
- To submit to or yield to another's opinion, wishes, or authority out of respect. On medical matters she chose to defer to her doctor.
Did you know?
- English 'defer' is really two words wearing one coat: delaying comes from Latin 'differre' (the root of 'differ'), while deferring to someone comes from 'deferre' - unrelated verbs that merged into a single spelling.
Word origin
The two senses have different roots: 'postpone' from Latin 'differre' 'to carry apart, delay'; 'yield to' from Latin 'deferre' 'to carry down, submit', both via Old French and conflated in English.
Remember it
DEFER and DIFFER look alike for a reason - to defer a task is to push its difference in time to later.
A little poem
Defer the choice and the day grows long;
the waiting was the wrong all along.
couplet
Wordplay
- I asked my friend whether to defer the meeting or defer to the boss. He said yes - the spelling doesn't pick for you.
What it teaches
Deferring a hard choice doesn't shrink it; it just lends it interest until you finally pay.
Quick facts
What does DEFER mean?
To put off an action until later, or to yield respectfully to another's judgment.
Is DEFER a valid word?
Yes — DEFER is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is DEFER?
DEFER has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does DEFER come from?
The two senses have different roots: 'postpone' from Latin 'differre' 'to carry apart, delay'; 'yield to' from Latin 'deferre' 'to carry down, submit', both via Old French and conflated in English.
What can DEFER teach us?
Deferring a hard choice doesn't shrink it; it just lends it interest until you finally pay.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.