differ

Definition

Not to have the same traits or characteristics; to be unalike or distinct.

Etymology

From Middle English differren, from Old French differer, from Latin differō (“carry apart, put off, defer; differ”), from dis- (“apart”) + ferō (“carry, bear”). Compare Ancient Greek διαφέρω (diaphérō). Doublet of defer and dilate, see also infer, confer and collate, refer and relate, as well as prefer and prelate among others.

Example Sentences

• "When we look to the individuals of the same variety or sub-variety of our older cultivated plants and animals, one of the first points which strikes us, is, that they generally differ much more from each other, than do the individuals of any one species or variety in a state of nature."
• "These shoes only differ from those ones in having slightly longer laces."
• "The numbers 3 and 21 differ by 18."

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