Reference

How to spell reference

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce reference

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reference mean?

1. nounA mention of or pointer to a source, person, or piece of information.
2. verbTo mention or cite something as a source or example.

Reference in a sentence

• noun

  The report includes a full reference to the original study.

• verb

  The lawyer began to reference an earlier ruling to support her case.

• noun

  Her former manager agreed to provide a reference for the job application.

• verb

  Writers should reference every quotation they use in the essay.

Where does reference come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb referre, which literally meant 'to carry back' or 'to bring back', formed from the prefix re- 'back' and ferre 'to carry or bear'. From the idea of carrying something back, the sense broadened to 'reporting' or 'relating' a matter to a source, and the noun referentia developed around the notion of directing attention to something. English took the word in through Old French during the late 1500s, first in the sense of relating one thing to another. The same ferre root still carries its load inside everyday relatives such as 'transfer', 'prefer', and 'infer', all of which involve carrying something in some direction. The spelling trap lies in the single -f- and the unstressed -er- and -ence ending, which is why writers sometimes double the f or slip in an -ance.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• fer (carry, from Latin ferre)
• -ence (noun suffix denoting a state or action)