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Latin

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Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti

Proto-Italic *ferō

Latin ferō

Latin differō

From dis- (“apart”) + ferō (“carry, bear”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈdɪf.fɛ.roː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈdif.fe.ro]

Verb

differō (present infinitive differre, perfect active distulī, supine dīlātum); third conjugation, suppletive

(transitive) to carry different ways, spread, scatter, disperse, separate
Synonyms: diffundō, fundō, effundō, cōnfundō, dēfundō, dissipō, indūcō, sternō
- c. 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 1.1.3:
  Dum differtur vīta trānscurrit.
  While [one’s attention] is scattered, life rushes past.
  [Alternatively, in context:]
  While [our moral improvement] is delayed, life runs away.
(transitive, figuratively) to distract, disquiet or disturb someone; confound
Synonyms: disturbō, turbō, perturbō, sollicitō, agitō
(transitive, figuratively) to spread, publish, circulate, divulge; cry down, defame
(transitive, figuratively) to defer, put off, protract, delay, adjourn
Synonyms: moror, dētineō, cū̆nctor, retardō, tardō, dubitō, prōtrahō, trahō

Antonyms: ruō, currō, accurrō, trepidō, festīnō, prōvolō, properō, corripiō, affluō, mātūrō
- c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Proverbs.13.12:
  Spēs quae differtur adflīgit animam: lignum vītae dēsīderium veniēns.
  Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul: desire when it cometh, is a tree of life. (Douay-Rheims trans., Challoner rev.: 1752 CE)
(intransitive) to be different, differ, vary
Synonyms: distō, dissideō, abhorreō
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.1:
  Hī omnēs linguā, īnstitūtīs, lēgibus inter sē differunt.
  These all differ from each other in language, customs, and laws.

Conjugation

Irregular, but resembling the third conjugation. The principal parts come from several different words originally.

Conjugation of differō (third conjugation, suppletive)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	differō	differs		differt	differimus	differtis		differunt
	imperfect	differēbam	differēbās		differēbat	differēbāmus	differēbātis		differēbant
	future	differam	differēs		differet	differēmus	differētis		different
	perfect	distulī	distulistī		distulit	distulimus	distulistis		distulērunt, distulēre
	pluperfect	distuleram	distulerās		distulerat	distulerāmus	distulerātis		distulerant
	future perfect	distulerō	distuleris		distulerit	distulerimus	distuleritis		distulerint
passive	present	differor	differris, differre		differtur	differimur	differiminī		differuntur
	imperfect	differēbar	differēbāris, differēbāre		differēbātur	differēbāmur	differēbāminī		differēbantur
	future	differar	differēris, differēre		differētur	differēmur	differēminī		differentur
	perfect	dīlātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	dīlātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	dīlātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	differam	differās		differat	differāmus	differātis		differant
	imperfect	differrem	differrēs		differret	differrēmus	differrētis		differrent
	perfect	distulerim	distulerīs		distulerit	distulerīmus	distulerītis		distulerint
	pluperfect	distulissem	distulissēs		distulisset	distulissēmus	distulissētis		distulissent
passive	present	differar	differāris, differāre		differātur	differāmur	differāminī		differantur
	imperfect	differrer	differrēris, differrēre		differrētur	differrēmur	differrēminī		differrentur
	perfect	dīlātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	dīlātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	differ		—	—	differte		—
active	future	—	differtō		differtō	—	differtōte		differuntō
passive	present	—	differre		—	—	differiminī		—
passive	future	—	differtor		differtor	—	—		differuntor
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		differre		differrī		differēns		—
future		dīlātūrum esse		dīlātum īrī		dīlātūrus		differendus, differundus
perfect		distulisse		dīlātum esse		—		dīlātus
future perfect		—		dīlātum fore		—		—
perfect potential		dīlātūrum fuisse		—		—		—
verbal nouns		gerund					supine
		genitive	dative		accusative	ablative	accusative		ablative
		differendī	differendō		differendum	differendō	dīlātum		dīlātū

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Inherited:
- Old Occitan: deferir
Borrowed:
- → Catalan: diferir
- → English: differ, defer, dilate
- → French: différer
- → Galician: diferir
- → Italian: differire
- → Piedmontese: difer
- → Portuguese: diferir
- → Romanian: diferi
- → Spanish: diferir

References

“differo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“differo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
“differo”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- the wind spread the conflagration: ventus ignem distulit (B. G. 5. 43)
- to put off till another time; to postpone: aliquid in aliud tempus, in posterum differre
- to put off from one day to another: diem ex die ducere, differre
- to differ qualitatively not quantitatively: genere, non numero or magnitudine differre
Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “differre”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 3: D–F, page 73