2020-12-22
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด R – Refer & refer
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง Refer = ‘ri-FUR’
Farlex Trivia Dictionary.
allude, refer = To alludeis to "mention indirectly, hint at,"
and to refer is to "mention directly."
See also related terms for hint.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
ref′er·a·ble (rĕf′ər-ə-bəl, rĭ-fûr′-) adj.
re·fer′ral n.
re·fer′rer n.
Usage Note:
Some people consider the phrase refer back to be redundant, since refer contains the prefix re-,
which was brought into English from Latin and
originally meant "back."
But such an argument is based on
what linguists call the "etymological fallacy"
—the assumption that the meaning of a word
should always reflect the meanings of the words, roots,
and affixes from which it was derived.
In fact, most words change their meanings over time,
often to the point where their historical rootsare completely obscured.
Such change is natural and usually goes unnoticedexcept by scholars.
We conduct inaugurations without consulting soothsayers(augurs),
and we don't necessarily share bread (pānis in Latin) with our companions.
In fact, refer is quite often used in contexts that don't involve
the meaning "back" at all,
as in The doctor referred her patient to a specialist
or Please refer to this menu of our daily specials.
As for refer back, the Usage Panel's position has shifted dramatically over the years. In 1995, 65 percent of the Panel disapproved of this construction, but by 2011, 81 percent accepted it in the sentence
To answer your question it is necessary to refer back to the minutes of the previous meeting.
In such cases, where the "back" meaning of re- has largely disappeared,
adding back can provide useful semantic information,
indicating that the person or thing being referred to
has been mentioned or consulted before.
The Panel remains somewhat less tolerant of constructions
like revert back, in which the verb retains the sense "back"
as part of its meaning: in 2011, 67 percent accepted revert back in the sentence
After his divorce he seemed to revert back to his adolescence.
In this context,
back may simply be used to provide emphasis,
perhaps suggesting a greater step backwardthan the verb by itself would.
In any case, the prevalence of phrases
that combine back and words prefixed with re-
indicates that such constructions are a robust feature of English,
even if they do appear to be logically redundant.
COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY
USAGE FOR REFER
The common practice of adding back to refer is tautologous,
since this meaning is already containedin the re- of refer:
this refers to (not back to) what has already been said .
However, when refer is used in
the sense of passing a document or question for further consideration to the person from whom it was received, it may be appropriate to say he referred the matter back
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expression
Refer & refer back
Refer has much the same meaningas ALLUDE
Specifically, it means “to direct one’s thoughts or attention”
to something else:
“Please refer to Chapter 10 for a further explanation of this topic.”
“The prisoner twice referred to his former employer during the hearing,”
Refer conveys the idea of back
(it is derived from Latin words meaning “back” or “again” and “carry”),
Omit back in refer backand avoid wordiness:
“The speaker referred (not refer back) to his earlier comments:
“If the meaning is “to send back,” then refer back is permissible
but still wordy.”
