Transfer

How to spell transfer

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce transfer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does transfer mean?

1. verbTo move someone or something from one place, person, or situation to another.
2. nounAn act of moving something or someone, or a document or ticket that permits such a move.

Transfer in a sentence

• verb

  The bank will transfer the funds to your account by Friday.

• noun

  The wire transfer took two business days to clear.

• verb

  Managers can transfer staff between branches when one site is short-handed.

• noun

  His request for a transfer to the London office was approved.

Where does transfer come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb transferre, which was assembled from trans, meaning 'across' or 'over', and ferre, meaning 'to carry or bear'. Literally, then, it meant 'to carry across', the act of bearing something from one spot to another. English took it up in the late 1300s, partly through Old French and partly straight from the Latin, keeping the sense of moving a thing, a right, or a person from one place or owner to another. The same ferre root carries a large family of English words, including 'refer', 'infer', 'prefer' and 'ferry', all of which involve some kind of carrying. Notably, the past participle of transferre was translatus, which is why 'translate' (to carry meaning across languages) is a close cousin. The spelling stays steady on 'trans' plus 'fer', though the doubled 'r' that appears in forms like 'transferred' and 'transferring' trips many writers.

How the word is built

• trans- (across)
• fer (carry, from Latin ferre 'to bear or carry')