Confer

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈfʌɹ/

Definitions

1. To grant or bestow something, or to consult with others in order to exchange opinions and reach a decision
2. To officially give or award something valuable or important ; to meet with others to talk and share ideas in order to make a choice
3. To provide or present an honor, degree, or right to someone ; to hold talks with one or more people for advice or deliberation

Etymology: The verb "confer" is built from the Latin prefix "con-" ("together") and "ferre" ("to carry" or "to bring"), so its literal sense is "to bring together." That physical picture is still visible in the modern sense of "to award formally," which grew from the idea of bringing a gift or honour to someone. The Latin "cōnferō" passed through Old French and Middle French, and English took it up in the Early Modern period, when it was used both for bringing people together to talk and for bestowing things on them. Its family is large, and it shares its root with a whole group of English verbs. "Infer," "refer," "defer," "prefer," "relate," and "prelate" all come from the same "ferre" root, each with a different prefix. Confer has a close relative in "collate," which came into English from the same Latin base by a separate route, making the two a doublet. The conversational sense of "to confer," meaning to consult or talk things over, grew from the same "bringing together" idea.

Synonyms: bestow, grant, award, present, communicate

Antonyms: withhold, revoke, deny, refuse, take