deference

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 28, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>deference</strong> &#149; \DEF-uh-runss\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> respect and esteem due a superior or an elder; <em>also</em> <strong>:</strong> affected or <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ingratiating">ingratiating</a> regard for another's wishes</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"The 41-page filing answered government arguments that appeals rules give trial judges a lot of <em>deference</em> to make findings about facts, such as whether a juror is following court rules." — <a href="https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/courts/2021/01/19/appeal-religious-freedom-corrine-browns-lawyers-tell-court/4203395001/">Steve Patterson, <em>The Florida Times-Union</em> (Jacksonville, Florida), 19 Jan. 2021</a></p> <p>"'Where once he was a youthful firebrand,' Mr. Peterson said, Mr. Museveni 'now speaks as an elder, reminding his people about the virtues of the old culture, demanding <em>deference</em>, excoriating the decadence of the young.'" — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/16/world/africa/uganda-election-results.html">Abdi Latif Dahir, <em>The New York Times</em>, 16 Jan. 2021</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>We need to be specific when we tell you that <em>deference</em> and <em>defer</em> both derive from the Medieval Latin <em>dēferre</em>, which means "to convey, show respect, submit to a decision," because there are two <em>defers</em> in the English language. The <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defer#h2">defer</a></em> related to <em>deference</em> is typically used with <em>to</em> in contexts having to do either with allowing someone else to decide or choose something, as in "I'll defer to the experts," or with agreeing to follow someone else's decision, wish, e