Latin word root · Motion & Action

fer-: carrying, bearing

fer- is a Latin root meaning “carrying, bearing”. Learn its variants and explore 7 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: carrying, bearing

Root forms: fer-, lat-

Source word: ferō — to bear; to carry

Word family and examples

• transfer

  to move from one place to another

• refer

  to mention or allude to; to direct to a source for help

• relate

  to make or show a connection between; to tell a story

• circumference

  the enclosing boundary of a circle

• conifer

  A plant belonging to the order Coniferales; a cone-bearing seed plant with vascular tissue, usually a tree.

• afferent

  Carrying towards.

• efferent

  Carrying away from.

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

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