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trans·fer (trăns-fûr, trănsfər)
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v. trans·ferred, trans·fer·ring, trans·fers
v.tr.
1. To convey or cause to pass from one place, person, or thing to another.
2. Law To make over the possession or legal title of (property, for example); convey.
3. To convey (a design, for example) from one surface to another, as by impression.
v.intr.
1. To move oneself from one location or job to another.
2. To withdraw from one educational institution or course of study and enroll in another.
3. To change from one public conveyance to another: transferred to another bus.
n. (trănsfər)
1. also trans·fer·al (trăns-fûrəl) The conveyance or removal of something from one place, person, or thing to another.
2. One who transfers or is transferred, as to a new school.
3. A design conveyed by contact from one surface to another.
4.
a. A ticket entitling a passenger to change from one public conveyance to another as part of one trip.
b. A place where such a change is made.
5. also transferal Law A conveyance of title or property from one person to another.

[Middle English transferren, from Old French transferer, from Latin trānsferre : trāns-, trans- + ferre, to carry; see bher-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

trans·fera·bili·ty n.
trans·fera·ble, trans·ferra·ble adj.
trans·ferrer n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.