transfer
Definitions
To move someone or something from one place, person, or condition to another.
转移；调动；搬迁
To move money from one account to another.
转账；汇款
To change schools, jobs, or sports teams.
转学；调职；转会
The act or an instance of transferring; the thing transferred.
转移；调动；转账；转会
A ticket allowing a passenger to change vehicles during one trip.
（公共交通）换乘票
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedtrans- (across) + fer (carry) = 'to carry across.' The most transparent fer-family word — anything that moves from one place to another (people, money, files, school records) is being transferred.
Root fer still carries 93 more wordsWhy It Means This
Transfer covers an unusually wide range of human activities, all unified by «moving X across to Y.» You transfer money (banking), transfer schools (education), transfer ownership (law), transfer files (computing), transfer to another bus (transit). The verb-noun stress is largely fixed in modern usage (most speakers say trans-FER for verb and TRANS-fer for noun, though the difference has weakened). The same Latin verb ferre also gave us translate, transfusion, transcribe — but those words use the past participle stem latum, scribere, etc. Only transfer keeps the bare fer stem.
Usage Guide
- Banking (technical): 'wire transfer,' 'transfer funds to account #...' — moving money
- Education: 'transfer to a new school,' 'transfer credits' — change of institution
- Sport: 'a player on transfer,' 'transfer window' — moving between teams
- Computing: 'file transfer,' 'data transfer' — moving electronic data
- Transit (noun): 'I'll need a transfer to the Blue Line' — connection ticket
- Stress: verb trans-FER, noun TRANS-fer (the shift is weakening in AmE)
Example Sentences
- 1.
She transferred $500 to her sister's account.
- 2.
The player's transfer to a new club was big news.
- 3.
How long does an international transfer take?
- 4.
I had to transfer trains at Tokyo Station.
Easily Confused
transfer vs transport — Both move things, but transfer emphasizes a change of ownership, place, or assignment (money transfer, school transfer), while transport emphasizes physical conveyance over distance (transport goods by truck). You transfer funds; you transport cargo.