differ

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdɪfə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdɪfɚ/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪfə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: dif‧fer

From Middle English differren, from Old French differer, from Latin differō (“carry apart, put off, defer; differ”), from dis- (“apart”) + ferō (“carry, bear”). Compare Ancient Greek διαφέρω (diaphérō). Doublet of defer (etymology 1).

differ (third-person singular simple present differs, present participle differing, simple past and past participle differed)

1. (intransitive) Not to have the same traits or characteristics; to be unalike or distinct.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:differ

   These shoes only differ from those ones in having slightly longer laces.

2. (intransitive, people, groups, etc.) To have diverging opinions, disagree.
   • May 11, 1827, George Canning, Changes in the Administration

     I differ from the honourable baronet on both these subjects

3. (intransitive) To be separated in quantity.

   The numbers 3 and 21 differ by 18.

• agree to differ
• beg to differ
• your mileage may differ

From diff +‎ -er.

differ (plural differs)

1. (computing) A program that diffs, a diff.

   Synonym: diff

• “differ”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “differ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• riffed

differ

1. second-person singular present active imperative of differō