conferer

Conferer is an English noun used to denote one who confers, that is, someone who grants or bestows a privilege, award, degree, or title. In contemporary usage, this spelling is uncommon; most dictionaries prefer the form conferrer as the standard agent noun. The term can appear in older or legal texts as a variant or variant spelling of the same role.

In practice, the conferer is the party that grants or bestows something of value or authority. By contrast, the recipient of the grant is typically called the conferee. For example, a university may be described as the conferrer of a degree, while the graduate receiving the degree is the conferee. Because of the potential for confusion with similar terms, many writers choose the more common word conferrer or explicitly specify the roles involved.

Etymology and related forms: conferer derives from the verb confer, from Latin conferre meaning to bring together or to bestow. Related terms include conferral (the act of conferring), conferee (the recipient), and conferrer (the more common agent form for the giver). The term conferer may also appear in historical texts or as a nonstandard variant of conferrer.

See also: conferral, conferee, conferrer.