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Coffer vs Confer - What's the difference?

coffer | confer |

In lang=en terms the difference between coffer and confer

is that coffer is to decorate something, especially a ceiling, with coffers while confer is to grant as a possession; to bestow.

As verbs the difference between coffer and confer

is that coffer is to put money or valuables in a coffer while confer is (obsolete|intransitive) to compare.

As a noun coffer

is a strongbox: a strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.

coffer

English

Alternative forms

* copher (obsolete) * cophre (obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A strongbox: a strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.
  • (architecture) An ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome; a caisson.
  • * 1979 , Cormac McCarthy, Suttree , Random House, p.135:
    • Prolapsed and waterstained ceiling, the sagging coffers .
  • A cofferdam.
  • A supply or store of money, often belonging to an organization.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • He would discharge it without any burden to the queen's coffers .
  • * Shakespeare
    • Hold, here is half my coffer .
  • A trench dug in the bottom of a dry moat, and extending across it, to enable the besieged to defend it with raking fire.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • To put money or valuables in a coffer
  • To decorate something, especially a ceiling, with coffers.

    • External links

    * * *

    confer

    English

    Verb

    (conferr)
  • (obsolete) To compare.
  • * 1557 (book title):
    • The Newe Testament ... Conferred diligently with the Greke, and best approued translations.
  • *, II.3.1.i:
    • Confer thine estate with others […]. Be content and rest satisfied, for thou art well in respect to others […].
  • * Boyle
    • If we confer these observations with others of the like nature, we may find cause to rectify the general opinion.
  • To talk together, to consult, discuss; to deliberate.
  • * 1974 , "A Traveler's Perils", Time , 25 Mar 1974:
    • Local buttons popped when Henry Kissinger visited Little Rock last month to confer with Fulbright on the Middle East oil talks.
  • (obsolete) To bring together; to collect, gather.
  • To grant as a possession; to bestow.
  • * Milton
    • the public marks of honour and reward conferred upon me
  • * 2010 , Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer , 7 Feb 2010:
    • The special immunities that are conferred on MPs were framed with the essential purpose of allowing them to speak freely in parliament.
  • (obsolete) To contribute; to conduce.
  • * Glanvill
    • The closeness and compactness of the parts resting together doth much confer to the strength of the union.

    Related terms

    * conference

    See also

    * cf ----