deferent1
/ˈdɛf(ə)r(ə)nt
/adjective
Another term for deferential.Bob Hoskins sheds his Cockney vowels for a Received Pronounciation accent and plays a white version of the butler in a popular comedy - highly deferent, highly different....
- As they give up power during adolescence and become more socially deferent, young women may become particularly susceptible to the influence of male peers in substance use initiation, maintenance, and relapse.
- ‘And… I will be properly deferent,’ she added with a laugh.
Origin
Early 19th century: from defer2 and deference.
deferent2
/ˈdɛf(ə)r(ə)nt/noun
(In the Ptolemaic system of astronomy) the large circular orbit followed by the centre of the small epicycle in which a planet was thought to move.By adjusting the sizes of the epicycle and the deferent, and the speeds with which the planet moves on the epicycle and the epicycle moves on the deferent, the planet will occasionally exhibit retrograde motion....
- When the intricacies of epicycles, deferents and equants were explained to him Alfonso ‘the Wise’ is said to have remarked that if the Almighty had consulted him on the matter, he would have recommended something a little simpler…
- For example, each planet was said to move in its own small curve called an epicycle, while all the epicycles moved around the earth in larger circles called deferents.
Origin
Late Middle English: from medieval Latin deferent- 'carrying away', from the verb deferre.