Etymograph

English

deferent

From defer and deference; see -ent.

Another origin of deferent

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to be carrying’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō‘bear, carry’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēferō‘carry, remove’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdeferensas dēferēns‘carrying, bearing away’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600deferentuncertain
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defferent‘relating to the supposed circular orbit of the planets around the Earth’
  9. Englishtodaydeferent

Today it means

adj Showing deference; deferential.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “deferent”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / deferent

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