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deferent

1

[ def-er-uhnt ]

adjective

  1. marked by or showing deference:

    She was always deferent to her elders.



deferent

2

[ def-er-uhnt ]

adjective

, Anatomy.
  1. conveying away; efferent.
  2. of or relating to the vas deferens.

noun

  1. Astronomy. (in the Ptolemaic system) the circle around the earth in which a celestial body or the center of the epicycle of its orbit was thought to move.

deferent

1

/ ˈdɛfərənt /

adjective

  1. another word for deferential
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


deferent

2

/ ˈdɛfərənt /

adjective

  1. (esp of a bodily nerve, vessel, or duct) conveying an impulse, fluid, etc, outwards, down, or away; efferent
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. astronomy (in the Ptolemaic system) a circle centred on the earth around which the centre of the epicycle was thought to move
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of deferent1

First recorded in 1815–25; defer 2 + -ent

Origin of deferent2

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin dēferent- (stem of dēferēns ), present participle of dēferre. See defer 2, -ent
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Word History and Origins

Origin of deferent1

C17: from Latin dēferre ; see defer ²
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Example Sentences

The eighth sphere had neither deferent nor epicycle but to it were attached the fixed stars.

Corresponding to each planet there was supposed to be a circle called a deferent, which had the earth as its centre.

The moon moves on an epicycle centred on a second epicycle, itself centred on a deferent, excentric to the earth.

The man's tone was so earnest, and there was so deferent a look in his eyes, that the Princess recovered some of her courage.

Mealy Benoît had paid his score already, and Hogshead Geoffroy's deferent escort of friends was getting restless.

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