Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “deference” come from?

Deference comes from French déférence, formed with the French suffix -ance from Latin -antia, a suffix denoting state or quality.

deference (English): Great respect; The willingness to carry out the...

Definitions

  1. Great respect; The willingness to carry out the...

Ancestry of “deference”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchdéférencedeference
2Frenchdéférerto remand; to grant; to bestow; to confer ; to...
3Latindeferrepresent active infinitive of dēferō; to bear or...

Words derived from “deference”

  • nondeference
Every word from Latin deferre →