Verb

(contribut)

To give something, that is or becomes part of a larger whole.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katie L. Burke

, title= In the News , volume=101, issue=3, page=193, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.}}

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.