defer

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈfɜː(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)
• Hyphenation: de‧fer

Etymology 1

(deprecated template usage)

Originally a variant of (and hence a doublet of) differ; from Middle English differren (“to postpone”), from Old French differer, from Latin differō.

Verb

1. (transitive) To delay or postpone; especially to postpone induction into military service.
   • (Can we date this quote by William Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Defer the spoil of the city until night.

   • 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 3, in Frankenstein‎^[1]:

     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.
   • (Can we date this quote by John Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     God […] will not long defer / To vindicate the glory of his name.

Derived terms

• deferral
• deferment

Related terms

• differ

Translations

(transitive) to delay

• Armenian: տարկետել (hy) (tarketel)
• Bulgarian: отлагам (bg) (otlagam), отсрочвам (bg) (otsročvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 延緩／延缓 (zh) (yánhuǎn), 延缓 (zh) (yánhuǎn)

• Czech: odkládat (cs), zpozdit pf, zdržet pf, pozdržet pf, opozdit pf
• Dutch: uitstellen (nl)
• Finnish: lykätä (fi), myöhentää
• French: différer (fr), reporter (fr), remettre (fr)
• German: aufschieben (de), aufheben (de), verzögern (de), vertagen (de), verschieben (de), zurückstellen, hinausschieben, stunden (de), aussetzen (de), den Vortritt lassen
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀναβάλλω (anabállō)

• Hungarian: elhalaszt (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 延期する (ja) (えんきする, enki suru)
• Maori: tinaku, whakatārewa
• Middle English: differren
• Polish: odraczać (pl), odroczyć (pl)
• Portuguese: adiar (pt), pospor
• Russian: откла́дывать (ru) impf (otkládyvatʹ), отложи́ть (ru) pf (otložítʹ), отсро́чивать (ru) impf (otsróčivatʹ), отсро́чить (ru) pf (otsróčitʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: одгодити

  Roman: odgoditi (sh)

• Spanish: diferir (es)
• Swedish: skjuta upp (sv)
• Turkish: geciktirmek (tr), tehir etmek (tr), bekletmek (tr), yubatmak (tr)

(intransitive) to delay

• Czech: váhat (cs) impf, vyčkávat impf, otálet (cs) impf
• Dutch: talmen (nl),dralen (nl),
• Finnish: viivytellä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: abwarten (de), zuwarten, zögern (de)
• Middle English: differren
• Turkish: gecikmek (tr)

Etymology 2

From late Middle English differren (“to refer for judgement”), from Middle French déférer, from Latin dēferō.

Verb

1. (law, intransitive) To submit to the opinion or desire of another in respect to their judgment or authority.
   • (Can we date this quote by Francis Bacon and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Hereupon the commissioners […] deferred the matter to the Earl of Northumberland.

   • 1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II:

     "Well, I must defer to your judgment. You are captain," he said with marked civility.

2. To render, to offer.
   • (Can we date this quote by Brevint and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     worship deferred to the Virgin

Derived terms

• deference

Translations

to submit to the opinion or desire of another

• Bulgarian: отстъпвам (bg) (otstǎpvam)
• Czech: podrobit se pf
• Dutch: zich voegen, conformeren (nl), onderwerpen (nl)
• Finnish: mukautua (fi), myöntyä (fi), taipua (fi)
• German: sich fügen, nachgeben (de), sich beugen, sich einlassen auf
• Hungarian: enged (hu) (valaminek)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: deferencar (io)
• Maori: whakamiramira
• Persian: تمکین کردن (tamkin kardan)
• Portuguese: deferir (pt)
• Slovak: podvoliť sa
• Spanish: deferir (es)
• Swedish: hänskjuta

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} ertelemek (tr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• freed, refed

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈdeː.fer/, [ˈd̪eːfɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈde.fer/, [ˈd̪ɛːfer]

Verb

(deprecated template usage) dēfer

1. second-person singular present active imperative of dēferō