transfer

[trans-fur, trans-fer, trans-fer]

verb (used with object)

transferred, transferring 

1. to convey or remove from one place, person, etc., to another.

   He transferred the package from one hand to the other.

2. to cause to pass from one person to another, as thought, qualities, or power; transmit.

3. Law.,  to make over the possession or control of.

   to transfer a title to land.

4. to imprint, impress, or otherwise convey (a drawing, design, pattern, etc.) from one surface to another.

verb (used without object)

transferred, transferring 

1. to remove oneself from one place to another.

   to transfer from the New York office to London.

2. to withdraw from one school, college, or the like, and enter another.

   I transferred from Rutgers to Tulane.

3. to be moved from one place to another.

   to transfer to overseas duty.

4. to change by means of a transfer from one bus, train, or the like, to another.

noun

1. a means or system of transferring.

2. an act of transferring.

3. the fact of being transferred.

4. a point or place for transferring.

5. a ticket entitling a passenger to continue a journey on another bus, train, or the like.

6. a drawing, design, pattern, or the like, that is or may be transferred from one surface to another, usually by direct contact.

7. a person who changes or is changed from one college, military unit, business department, etc., to another.

8. Law.,  a conveyance, by sale, gift, or otherwise, of real or personal property, to another.

9. Finance.,  the act of having the ownership of a stock or registered bond transferred.

10. Also called transfer of training. Psychology.,  the positive or negative influence of prior learning on subsequent learning.

11. Also called language transfer. Linguistics.,  the application of native-language rules in attempted performance in a second language, in some cases resulting in deviations from target-language norms and in other cases facilitating second-language acquisition.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or involving transfer payments.

transfer

verb

1. to change or go or cause to change or go from one thing, person, or point to another

   they transferred from the Park Hotel to the Imperial

   she transferred her affections to her dog

2. to change (buses, trains, etc)

3. law to make over (property, etc) to another; convey

4. to displace (a drawing, design, etc) from one surface to another

5. (of a football player, esp a professional) to change clubs or (of a club, manager, etc) to sell or release (a player) to another club

6. to leave one school, college, etc, and enrol at another

7. to change (the meaning of a word, etc), esp by metaphorical extension

noun

1. the act, process, or system of transferring, or the state of being transferred

2. 1. a person or thing that transfers or is transferred

   2. ( as modifier )

      a transfer student

3. a design or drawing that is transferred from one surface to another, as by ironing a printed design onto cloth

4. law the passing of title to property or other right from one person to another by act of the parties or by operation of law; conveyance

5. finance

   1. the act of transferring the title of ownership to shares or registered bonds in the books of the issuing enterprise

   2. ( as modifier )

      transfer deed

      transfer form

6. any document or form effecting or regulating a transfer

7. a ticket that allows a passenger to change routes

Other Word Forms

• transferable adjective
• transferability noun
• transferrable adjective
• transferrer noun
• nontransferability noun
• nontransferable adjective
• retransfer noun
• untransferable adjective
• untransferred adjective
• untransferring adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transfer¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English transferren, from Latin trānsferre, from trāns trans- + ferre “to bring, carry”; bear ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of transfer¹

C14: from Latin transferre , from _trans- + ferre to carry

Example Sentences

“We do anticipate many of the lessons learned there to transfer to other operations around the country and much of the world.”

Read more on Wall Street Journal

His skills making scripture accessible transferred well into his psychology career.

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Oklo’s liquid sodium-cooled fast reactors use sodium as a heat transfer liquid and coolant, which allows them to operate at high temperatures without being pressurized, unlike conventional reactors.

Read more on Barron's

And the production of “Cats” that replaced felines with drag-ball competitors, seen off-Broadway last year, is transferring to Broadway this season.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

A mother’s tasks are innumerable and nonlinear; dinner has to get underway just when the laundry has to be transferred to the dryer.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• assign 
• bring 
• carry 
• cede 
• change 
• convert 
• deliver 
• dispatch 
• ferry 
• find 
• give 
• hand over 
• move 
• pass on 
• provide 
• relocate 
• remove 
• sell 
• send 
• shift 

When To Use

Where does transfer come from?

Transfer is an excellent example of how a little knowledge of Latin can go a long way.Transfer entered English around 1350–40. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb trānsferre, which principally meant “to carry or bring across.” The verb is composed of two parts. The first part is trāns-, a prefix based on the adverb and preposition trāns, meaning “across, beyond, through.” The second part is ferre, a verb meaning “to bear, carry,” among many other senses. The English verb bear, as in “bearing a load,” is actually an etymological cousin to the Latin ferre.Trāns- and ferre appear in many other English words. Let’s start with ferre. Prefer comes from the Latin praeferre, “to bear or set before” (learn more at pre-, preference). Refer comes from the Latin referre, “to bring back” (re-, reference). Infer comes from inferre, “to bring in” (in-, inference). This next origin may put a new spin on the word for you: suffer comes from sufferre, literally “to bear under,” with suf- a variant of sub- “under.” Defer and deference ultimately comes from—slight curveball here—differre, “to bear apart, carry away.” Differre is also the source of differ, different, and difference.Now for trāns-. Trāns- was incredibly productive in Latin. That means it was used to produce many new words, especially verbs (and their related forms) that have made their way into English, including:

• transact



• transcend



• transcribe



• transfigure



• transfix



• transform



• transfuse



• transmit



• transpire

Does knowing that trāns- means “across, beyond, through” shed any new light on what these words mean?Some other common words directly derived from Latin and featuring trāns- are transit, translucent, and transparent.Trāns-, naturalized as trans-, is also very productive in English. Some familiar examples include transconintental, trans-fat, and transgender.Dig deeper Translate is another word related to transfer—and not just because they both feature the trans- prefix.Now, English has irregular verbs: saw is the past tense of see, for instance, and bought is the past tense of buy. Latin had irregular verbs, too, as do many other languages. Without getting too technical, the verb ferre (meaning, if you’ll recall, “to carry”) formed past tenses based on tulī (“I carried”), and formed part participles based on lātus. That means translate is derived from the past participle form of transfer: trānslātus, literally “carried across,” as in a text that has been copied over.Isn’t it wild how so many words are related? Yep, relate—along with relationship, relation, and many other words—comes from the past participle form of referre (“to carry back,” source of refer), which was relātus.