efferent

[ ef-er-uhnt ]

adjective

1. conveying or conducting away from an organ or part ( afferent ).

noun

1. an efferent part, as a nerve or blood vessel.

efferent

/ ˈɛfərənt /

adjective

1. carrying or conducting outwards from a part or an organ of the body, esp from the brain or spinal cord Compare afferent

efferent

/ ĕf′ər-ənt /

1. Carrying motor impulses away from a central organ or part, as a nerve that conducts impulses from the central nervous system to the periphery of the body.
2. Compare afferent

Derived Forms

• ˈefference, noun
• ˈefferently, adverb

Other Words From

• effer·ence noun
• effer·ent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of efferent¹

1830–40; < Latin efferent- (stem of efferēns carrying off, present participle of efferre ), equivalent to ef- ef- + ferent- carrying ( fer- carry + -ent- -ent )

Word History and Origins

Origin of efferent¹

C19: from Latin efferre to bear off, from ferre to bear

Example Sentences

If you’re what media savants call an “efferent reader,” looking for the efficient take-away, his approach will drive you bonkers.

From Washington Post

Then, efferent nerves rapidly carry muscle-control signals back to the hand.

From Nature

Honda, Y. & Ishizuka, N. Organization of connectivity of the rat presubiculum: I. efferent projections to the medial entorhinal cortex.

From Nature

Meibach, R. C. & Siegel, A. Efferent connections of the hippocampal formation in the rat.

From Nature

Matt Present points to the whiteboard, where the 12 cranial nerves are drawn in blue and red with a Sharpie, labeled by a roman numeral and a letter: S, for afferent sensory nerves, which send signals to the brain; M, for efferent motor nerves, which carry messages from the brain; and B, for nerves that do both.

From National Geographic