1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym;Robert Burton], “Charity, compoſed of all three kindes, Pleaſant, Profitable, Honeſt”, inThe Anatomy of Melancholy:[…], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire:[…] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps,→OCLC, partition 3, section 1, member 3, subsection 1,page349:
A man is beloued of a man, in that he is a man, but all theſe are farre more eminent and great, when they ſhal proceed from a ſanctified ſpirit, that hath a true touch of Religion, and areference to God.
Ameasurement one can compare (some other measurement) to.
Information about a person, provided by someone (areferee) with whom they are well acquainted.
a.1800,William Cowper, “An Epistle to Joseph Hill, Esq.”, inThe Task, Tirocinium, and Other Poems,page180:
Changes will befall, and friends may part, / But distance only cannot change the heart / And were I call’d to prove th’ assertion true, / One proof should serve—areference to you.
Y’are falne into a Princely hand, feare nothing, / Make your fullreference freely to my Lord, / Who is ſo full of Grace, that it flowes ouer / On all that neede.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
reference (third-person singular simple presentreferences,present participlereferencing,simple past and past participlereferenced)
To provide a list of references for (a text).
You must thoroughlyreference your paper before submitting it.
(occasionally proscribed) Tocite, to use as a reference.
Reference the dictionary for word meanings.
1990, Thomas L. Bell, “Political Economy's Response to Positivism”, inGeographical Review, volume80, number 3, American Geographical Society,→JSTOR, page314:
The penchant for synthesizing the work of others that pervades British scholarship has been described by one of my cynical American colleagues as “a giant bibliography that is always eating its own tail.” By this he means that cliques of like-minded writers tend toreference each other’s work incessantly.
1994 September, Barry Chamish, quoting Louis Rossetto, “The End of the Book”, inThe Atlantic[1]:
Written information is a relatively new phenomenon. Depositing it and being able toreference it centuries later is not common human experience.
1998 January 26, Donnie Radcliffe, “New Library Will Chronicle First Ladies”, inThe Washington Post, pageC1+:
On the Florence Harding page, for instance, a researcher will be able toreference a book by Waarren Harding’s alleged mistress, Nan Britton, who claimed that she bore his daughter.
Humanities institutions specificallyreference the work setting for illustrative applications of the unique and significant contributions of the Humanities.
1990, Jean Borgatti, “Portraiture in Africa”, inAfrican Arts, volume23, number 3, page37:
With the economy characteristic of all African sculpture, these portraitsreference individual and social identities simultaneously, so that the image of a king may represent a particular king and all kings; a commemorative mask for a woman, a particular woman and all titled women.
And I would simplyreference those of you who are out there working.
2025 May 9, Kaitlan Collins, Samantha Waldenberg and Tierney Sneed, “Trump involved in discussions over suspending habeas corpus, sources say”, inCNN[3]:
While Trump has not explicitly mentioned habeas corpus in public, it’s what he wasreferencing last month when he commented on steps he could take to combat nationwide injunctions against his actions on deportations, according to one of the people familiar with the talks.
Some authorities object to the use ofreference as a verb with a meaning other than “provide a list of references for,” preferringrefer to orcite in these cases. Others allow the meaning “cite [as evidence, an example, etc.]” but reject “mention.”[2] Nevertheless, the proscribed usages are common in both writing and speech.
^Walker, John (1791), “Reference”, inA Critical Pronouncing Dictionary[…],London: G. G. J. andJ. Robinſon[…] and T.Cadell,→OCLC,page427, column 1 of 1.
