infer

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To reach an opinion or conclusion from the information you have.

   From her smile, I inferred that the news was good.

Simplified etymology

Infer comes from Latin inferre, “to bring in” or “bring about,” formed from in-, “into,” and ferre, “to bring.” Its early English senses included “bring about” and “inflict,” while the medieval Latin verb developed the meaning “deduce,” which underlies the modern use.

From Latin inferō, from Latin in- (“in, at, on; into”) + Latin ferō (“bear, carry; suffer”) (cognate to Old English beran, whence English bear), from Proto-Italic *ferō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti (“to bear, carry”), from the root *bʰer-. Literally “carry forward”, equivalent to “bear in”, as in concluding from a premise. Doublet of inbear.

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External links

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