deference

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The Word of the Day for February 5 is:

deference   \DEF-uh-runss\   noun 
     : respect and esteem due a superior or an elder; also : affected or 
ingratiating regard for another's wishes 

Example sentence:
     "In deference to our visitors from Brazil," the host said, "the ceremony 
will be conducted in both English and Portuguese."

Did you know?
     We need to be very specific when we tell you that "deference" and "defer" 
both derive from the Latin "deferre," which means "to bring down" or "to carry 
away." You might also have heard that "defer" traces to the Latin "differre," 
which means "to postpone" or "to differ." So which root is right? Both are. 
That's because English has two verbs, or homographs, spelled "defer." One means 
"to submit or delegate to another" (as in "I defer to your greater expertise"). 
That's the one that is closely related to "deference" and that comes from 
"deferre." The other means "put off or delay" (as in "we decided to defer the 
decision until next month"); that second "defer" derives from "differre."