from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Refer \Re*fer"\ (r[-e]*f[~e]r"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Referred}
(r[-e]*f[~e]rd"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Referring}.] [F.
r['e]f['e]rer, L. referre; pref. re- re- + ferre to bear. See
{Bear} to carry.]
1. To carry or send back. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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2. Hence: To send or direct away; to send or direct
elsewhere, as for treatment, aid, information, decision,
etc.; to make over, or pass over, to another; as, to refer
a student to an author; to refer a beggar to an officer;
to refer a bill to a committee; a court refers a matter of
fact to a commissioner for investigation, or refers a
question of law to a superior tribunal.
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3. To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to
assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason,
or ground of explanation; as, he referred the phenomena to
electrical disturbances.
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{To refer one's self}, to have recourse; to betake one's
self; to make application; to appeal. [Obs.]
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I'll refer me to all things sense. --Shak.
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