reference

B1 Topic:Describing People

US /ˈɹɛf.ə.ɹɛns/ UK /ˈɹɛf.(ə.)ɹəns/ See IPA manual

Freq #5351

Meanings

1

noun
A mention of something or someone.

The article made several references to the latest research.
2

noun
A book or source you look at to find information.

I carried an armful of references back to my desk.
3

noun
A statement about someone's character or abilities, usually for a job.

Her former boss agreed to write her a reference.
4

verb
To mention or cite something as a source.

She referenced her colleagues' work in the report.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a book or source you look... sourcereference book

3 noun · a statement about someone's... character reference

4 verb · to mention or cite... cite

Word family

Forms referencedreferencesreferencing

Derived forms autoreferenceback-referencebackreferencecall-by-referencecoreferencecross-referencedereferencegeoreferencegeoreferencerinterreferencemetareferencemisreference

Related forms handle referee referent referential relate relation sense

Etymology

From Middle French référence, from Medieval Latin referentia, nominative neuter plural of referēns, present participle of referō (“return, reply”, literally “carry back”). Morphologically refer + -ence.

*bʰer- Proto-Indo-European référence Middle French referentia la-med

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# reference

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɹɛf.ə.ɹɛns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɹɛf.(ə.)ɹəns/
**Frequency rank:** 5351

## Meanings
1. A mention of something or someone.
2. A book or source you look at to find information.
3. A statement about someone's character or abilities, usually for a job.
4. To mention or cite something as a source.

## Examples
- The article made several references to the latest research.
- I carried an armful of references back to my desk.
- Her former boss agreed to write her a reference.
- She referenced her colleagues' work in the report.

## Derived Forms
- autoreference
- back-reference
- backreference
- call-by-reference
- coreference
- cross-reference
- dereference
- georeference
- georeferencer
- interreference
- metareference
- misreference

## Related Forms
- handle
- referee
- referent
- referential
- relate
- relation
- sense

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰer-
- Root: référence
- Root: referentia

## Etymology
From Middle French référence, from Medieval Latin referentia, nominative neuter plural of referēns, present participle of referō (“return, reply”, literally “carry back”). Morphologically refer + -ence.

## AI Etymology
Reference comes from Middle French référence, from Medieval Latin referentia, nominative neuter plural of referēns, present participle of referō (“return, reply”, literally “carry back”). Morphologically refer + -ence. Modern senses include a mention of something or someone. and a book or source you look at to find information.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as autoreference, back-reference, backreference, call-by-reference, coreference, and cross-reference and related forms such as handle, referee, referent, and referential.

## Topics
- Describing People

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reference

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