English
confer
Confer comes from Latin cōnferō ‘to bring or collect together, gather’, from ferō ‘to bear’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō‘to bear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnferō‘to bring or collect together, gather’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400conferer
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600conférer
- Englishearliest quotation 1557confer
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō‘to bear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnferō‘to bring or collect together, gather’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400conferer
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600conférer
- Englishearliest quotation 1557confer
Earliest quotation: 1557: “The Newe Testament ... Conferred diligently with the Greke,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, bread, fortune, burden, bearing, barrel, prefer, barn, bore, fury, breeze, bark, baron, broom, barrow, embargo, fret, berth, ferret, furtive, insufferable, bahar, bier, birr, barrette, bairn, burnish, proffer, 113 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to be carrying’
bear, borne, phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, phosphine, indifferently, 91 more
through Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
suffering, differently, indifferent, differentiation, infertility, deference, infertile, differentially, differentiable, deferential, differentiator, 68 more
through Latin ferō ‘to bear’
different, difference, offer, relative, extraordinary, reference, transfer, relate, translation, relation, suffer, translate, frustration, strangely, referendum, differ, fertility, extravagant, referee, fertile, frustrate, elated, extraneous, strangeness, defer, infra, fertilization, ablation, elation, dilate, infer, ablative, fertilize, oblate, estrange, efferent, 79 more
through Latin cōnferō ‘to bring or collect together, gather’
Today it means
verb To grant as a possession; to bestow.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / confer