convey

Convey is a verb with several related senses centered on transfer or transmission. In its primary sense, it means to carry or transport something from one place to another: a vehicle conveys passengers; a pipeline conveys water. It also means to communicate information, meaning, or feeling: a report conveys findings; a gesture can convey warmth. In legal usage, convey means to transfer title or ownership of real property from one person to another, a process known as conveyance.

Convey derives from Old French convoi, meaning “carriage, procession,” from Latin via, meaning “way.” The word entered English in the Middle Ages, and the legal sense of transferring property developed in the medieval period.

Usage notes: convey is a transitive verb that typically requires a direct object and, for the communicative sense, a recipient (convey something to someone). Examples include “The deed conveys title to the buyer” and “The letter conveys her gratitude to the recipients.” In everyday speech, convey can be used with the preposition to (convey to someone) or with prepositions indicating the channel (convey information through a report). The noun form is conveyance, referring to the act or document of transfer, especially in real property law; the related device that physically moves objects is a conveyor.