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DictionaryRoot: ferre
Latin

ferre

bear, carry, bring

Forms

  • fer-
  • lat- — Used for ‘carried’ in the Latin verb’s grammar, but supplied by a different older root.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *bher-, ‘bear; carry.’

Note

English bear is a relative from the same older source, rather than a Latin borrowing.

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verb

infer

in-FER/ɪnˈfɜːr/

To reach a conclusion from evidence or reasoning.

From the muddy footprints, I infer that someone came inside.

A woman draws a conclusion from physical evidence by comparing a muddy boot print with two different boot soles and selecting the one whose distinctive tread matches.
Etymology
inLatinin, into, on, upon
+ferLatinbear, carry, bring

The roots mean “carry in”: in reasoning, a conclusion is figuratively brought in as the outcome of an argument. Latin already used the combined verb for drawing conclusions.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain233:00
we need some connection of universals enabling us from such and such a datum to infer an object of a certain sort
1910s Philosophy: Bertrand Russell - The Problems of Philosophy (Audiobook)

More examples

  • She infers from his smile that he likes the gift.
  • We inferred the meaning of the unfamiliar word from context.
  • Are you inferring that the two events are connected?

Forms

infer · infers · inferred · inferring

inference noun — A conclusion reached through evidence or reasoning.

inferential adjective — Based on conclusions drawn from evidence.

Similar words

deduce
Emphasizes a conclusion that follows logically from known facts.
conclude
Emphasizes reaching a final judgment rather than interpreting clues.