Referred

Referred is the past tense and past participle form of the verb refer. In general use, refer means to direct attention to a person, document, or source, or to mention or indicate something briefly. In formal or professional contexts, "referred" typically signals that someone has been sent to another resource or authority, or that a term or item has been named or cited in relation to another.

In medicine, a patient is referred to a specialist, clinic, or service for further evaluation or treatment. In academic and journalistic writing, authors refer to sources by citing them, and readers are guided to related material. The expression "referred to as" is common when designating a label or alias for a term or entity, such as "the organism, referred to as X, shows the following traits."

Etymology and form: Referred derives from the Latin referre, meaning to bring back or report, via Old French referer. The prefix re- indicates repetition or backward direction, while ferre means to bear or carry. The word has two primary senses: directing attention or service to someone else, and mentioning or citing something within discourse.

Grammar notes: as a transitive verb, refer is used with objects (refer a patient, refer to a document). It can be used in active or passive constructions ("the patient was referred" or "the matter was referred to the committee"). It is related to the nouns reference and referral, and to the verb refer.