Showing respect and consideration for someone; willing to accept someone else's opinion or authority.
From Latin deferens, present participle of deferre 'to carry away, yield to,' from dis- (away) + ferre (to carry). The sense evolved from 'carrying toward' (yielding) to 'showing respect.'
A deferent person literally 'carries toward' the other person's opinion—it's a beautiful metaphor built into the Latin root. You can be deferent to authority without agreeing with it; it's about respect, not surrender.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.