Other forms: referred, refers, referring
To refer is to mention something — or to send somebody on to another person for help. Two senses, both very common.
The mentioning sense takes to, so referring to a report means bringing it up. The sending-on sense is medical and administrative, and a doctor refers a patient to a specialist, which is why a referral letter exists. The word doubles its r before an ending, giving referred and referring but reference. A referee both settles disputes and vouches for you on a job application.
Proto-Indo-European
*bʰer-
Latin
referre
Old French
referer
Middle English
referren
English, today
refer
From Middle English referren, from Old French referer, from Latin referre. The noun (used in journalism) is from the verb. a doublet of relate. See also infer, collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA