deferent

1
[ def-er-uhnt ]

adjective
  1. marked by or showing deference: She was always deferent to her elders.

Origin of deferent

1
First recorded in 1815–25; defer2 + -ent

Words Nearby deferent

Other definitions for deferent (2 of 2)

deferent2
[ def-er-uhnt ]

adjectiveAnatomy.
  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.

Origin of deferent

2
1375–1425; late Middle English <Latin dēferent- (stem of dēferēns), present participle of dēferre.See defer2, -ent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deferent in a sentence

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

    Astronomical Lore in Chaucer | Florence M. Grimm
  • 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.

    History of Astronomy | George Forbes
  • 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.

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

    Fantmas | Pierre Souvestre

British Dictionary definitions for deferent (1 of 2)

deferent1

/ (ˈdɛfərənt) /


adjective
  1. another word for deferential

British Dictionary definitions for deferent (2 of 2)

deferent2

/ (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

Origin of deferent

2
C17: from Latin dēferre; see defer ²

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