Re*fer" (r&esl;*f&etilde;r"), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. Referred (-f&etilde;rd);
p. pr. & vb. n. Referring.] [F.
référer, L. referre; pref. re- re-
+ ferre to bear. See Bear to carry.] 1.
To carry or send back. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Hence: To send or direct away; to send or
direct elsewhere, as for treatment, aid, information, decision, etc.;
to make over, or pass over, to another; as, to refer a student
to an author; to refer a beggar to an officer; to refer
a bill to a committee; a court refers a matter of fact to a
commissioner for investigation, or refers a question of law to
a superior tribunal.
3. To place in or under by a mental or
rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive,
reason, or ground of explanation; as, he referred the phenomena
to electrical disturbances.
To refer one's self, to have recourse; to
betake one's self; to make application; to appeal. [Obs.]
I'll refer me to all things sense.
Shak.
Re*fer", v. i. 1.
To have recourse; to apply; to appeal; to betake one's self; as,
to refer to a dictionary.
In suits . . . it is to refer to some friend of
trust.
Bacon.
2. To have relation or reference; to relate;
to point; as, the figure refers to a footnote.
Of those places that refer to the shutting and
opening the abyss, I take notice of that in Job.
Bp.
Burnet.
3. To carry the mind or thought; to direct
attention; as, the preacher referred to the late
election.
4. To direct inquiry for information or a
guarantee of any kind, as in respect to one's integrity, capacity,
pecuniary ability, and the like; as, I referred to his employer
for the truth of his story.
Syn. -- To allude; advert; suggest; appeal. Refer,
Allude, Advert. We refer to a thing by
specifically and distinctly introducing it into our discourse. We
allude to it by introducing it indirectly or indefinitely, as
by something collaterally allied to it. We advert to it by
turning off somewhat abruptly to consider it more at large. Thus,
Macaulay refers to the early condition of England at the
opening of his history; he alludes to these statements from
time to time; and adverts, in the progress of his work, to
various circumstances of peculiar interest, on which for a time he
dwells. "But to do good is . . . that that Solomon chiefly
refers to in the text." Sharp. "This, I doubt not, was
that artificial structure here alluded to." T.
Burnet.
Now to the universal whole advert:
The earth regard as of that whole a part.
Blackmore.
