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

deferent

²

/ ˈdɛfərənt /

adjective

1. (esp of a bodily nerve, vessel, or duct) conveying an impulse, fluid, etc, outwards, down, or away; efferent

noun

1. astronomy (in the Ptolemaic system) a circle centred on the earth around which the centre of the epicycle was thought to move

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of deferent¹

C17: from Latin dēferre ; see defer ²