refero

Latin

Etymology

From re- +‎ ferō (“bear, carry”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈre.fe.roː/, [ˈrɛfɛroː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈre.fe.ro/, [ˈrɛːfero]

Verb

referō (present infinitive referre, perfect active rettulī, supine relātum); third conjugation, irregular

1. to bear, bring, drive, or carry back, off, or away

   Synonym: reveho

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.93-95:

     “Ēgregiam vērō laudem et spolia ampla refertis
     tūque puerque tuus, magnum et memorābile nūmen,
     ūna dolō dīvom sī fēmina victa duōrum est!”

     “[Such] praiseworthy honor, indeed! And splendid the spoils you [both] bring back — you and your boy, [Cupid] — so great and glorious the divine might, the guile of two gods having vanquished one woman!”
     (Juno mocks Venus after Dido has fallen in love.)

2. to give back, give up, return, restore, pay back, repay, pay in return, show one's gratitude
3. (of sound) to bring back, return, answer, echo, resound
4. to bring back, restore, renew, revive, repeat
5. to say in return, respond, reply, answer, represent

   Synonyms: respondeo, occurro

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.333:

     Tandem pauca refert: [...].

     At last [Aeneas] briefly replies: [...].

6. to call to mind, recall, think over, call back to memory, repeat one's self

   Synonyms: memorō, admoneō, moneō, retineō, meminī, redūcō

   Antonyms: oblīvīscor, oblitterō

   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 2.104:

     liceat sūmpta pauca referre lyra

     Let me take up my lyre to recall a few [notes].

7. to reconsider
8. to refer to, assign to, give credit for
9. to judge by, measure according to a certain standard
10. to restore, renew, revive, repeat

    Synonyms: iterō, integrō, redintegrō, renovō, novō, reficiō, reparō

11. (news or message) relate, recount, tell, say

    Synonyms: oro, alloquor, loquor, for, aio, alloquor, loquor, colloquor

12. (matter of import, to the senate) to bring before, refer to

    Synonym: propono

13. (name or item in a list) to include, enter
14. to make known officially, report, deliver, transmit, announce, notify, proclaim, register, record

    Synonyms: dēnūntiō, adnuntio, nuntio, indico, renūntiō, nū̆ncupō, profiteor, dēferō, prōdō, ēdīcō, praedicō, cōntiōnor

15. (passive) to retreat, go back, withdraw, return

    Synonyms: facessō, dēcēdō, discēdō, cēdō, dēficiō, concēdō, excēdō, regredior, subtrahō, subdūcō, inclīnō, recēdō, āmoveō, recipiō, vertō

    Antonyms: prōgredior, prōdeō, prōcēdō, prōficiō, aggredior, ēvehō, incēdō, accēdō, adeō

    • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita I.14:

      pedes quoque referret gradum

      The infantry also retreated from his position

16. to tell, recount, narrate

    Synonyms: ferō, prōdō, pandō, trādō, dicitur

Usage notes

• The forms "rettul..." are also found as "retul...".

Conjugation

Conjugation of referō (third conjugation, irregular, suppletive)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	referō	refers	refert	referimus	refertis	referunt
	imperfect	referēbam	referēbās	referēbat	referēbāmus	referēbātis	referēbant
	future	referam	referēs	referet	referēmus	referētis	referent
	perfect	rettulī	rettulistī	rettulit	rettulimus	rettulistis	rettulērunt, rettulēre
	pluperfect	rettuleram	rettulerās	rettulerat	rettulerāmus	rettulerātis	rettulerant
	future perfect	rettulerō	rettuleris	rettulerit	rettulerimus	rettuleritis	rettulerint
passive	present	referor	referris, referre	refertur	referimur	referiminī	referuntur
	imperfect	referēbar	referēbāris, referēbāre	referēbātur	referēbāmur	referēbāminī	referēbantur
	future	referar	referēris, referēre	referētur	referēmur	referēminī	referentur
	perfect	relātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	relātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	relātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	referam	referās	referat	referāmus	referātis	referant
	imperfect	referrem	referrēs	referret	referrēmus	referrētis	referrent
	perfect	rettulerim	rettulerīs	rettulerit	rettulerīmus	rettulerītis	rettulerint
	pluperfect	rettulissem	rettulissēs	rettulisset	rettulissēmus	rettulissētis	rettulissent
passive	present	referar	referāris, referāre	referātur	referāmur	referāminī	referantur
	imperfect	referrer	referrēris, referrēre	referrētur	referrēmur	referrēminī	referrentur
	perfect	relātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	relātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	refer	—	—	referte	—
	future	—	refertō	refertō	—	refertōte	referuntō
passive	present	—	referre	—	—	referiminī	—
	future	—	refertor	refertor	—	—	referuntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		referre	rettulisse	relātūrum esse	referrī	relātum esse	relātum īrī
participles		referēns	—	relātūrus	—	relātus	referendus, referundus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		referendī	referendō	referendum	referendō	relātum	relātū

Derived terms

• pedem referre
• relātiō
• relātīvus
• relātor
• relātōria
• relātus

 

Related terms

Related terms

• adferō / afferō
• auferō
• circumferō
• cōnferō
• dēferō
• differō
• efferō
• ferō
• īnferō
• interferō
• intrōferō
• offerō
• perferō
• postferō
• praeferō
• praeterferor
• prōferō
• sufferō
• trānsferō

Descendants

• >? Proto-Albanian: *refenj-
  • Albanian: rrëfej
• → Catalan: referir, relatar
• → Dutch: refereren, relateren
• → English: refer, relate
• → French: référer, relater
• → German: referieren
• → Italian: riferire
• → Portuguese: referir, relatar
• → Spanish: referir, relatar
• → Swedish: relatera

References

• “refero”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “refero”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• refero in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• refero in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2024), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to retreat step by step: gradum sensim referre
    
  • to consider one's own advantage in everything: omnia ad suam utilitatem referre
    
  • to show gratitude (in one's acts): gratiam alicui referre (meritam, debitam) pro aliqua re
    
  • to return like for like: par pari referre
    
  • to reward amply; to give manifold recompense for: bonam (praeclaram) gratiam referre
    
  • the book is attributed to an unknown writer: liber refertur ad nescio quem auctorem
    
  • to enter a thing in one's note-book: aliquid in commentarios suos referre (Tusc. 3. 22. 54)
    
  • to make virtue the standard in every thought and act: omnia consilia et facta ad virtutem referre (Phil. 10. 10. 20)
    
  • to measure something by the standard of something else; to make something one's criterion: dirigere or referre aliquid ad aliquam rem
    
  • to deify a person: aliquem in deorum numerum referre, reponere
    
  • to consider as a god: aliquem in deorum numero referre
    
  • to book a debt: nomina facere or in tabulas referre
    
  • to put down to a man's credit: alicui acceptum referre aliquid (Verr. 2. 70. 170)
    
  • to retire into private life: in otium se referre (Fam. 99)
    
  • to consider a thing from a political point of view: ad rei publicae rationes aliquid referre
    
  • to record in the official tablets (Annales maximi): in album referre (De Or. 2. 12. 52)
    
  • to place a person's name on the list of the proscribed: in proscriptorum numerum referre aliquem (Rosc. Am. 11. 32)
    
  • to bring a question before the senate (of the presiding magistrate): ad senatum referre (Cic. Dom. 53. 136)
    
  • to enter a thing in the public records: in tabulas publicas referre aliquid
    
  • to put some one on the list of the accused: referre in reos aliquem
    
  • to retire (without turning one's back on the enemy): pedem referre
    
  • to gain a victory, win a battle: victoriam ferre, referre
    
• Frederic M. Wheelock and Richard A. LaFleur (2000), Wheelock's Latin (6th edition), HarperCollins: New York, →ISBN