Meaning

verb make reference to

verb be relevant to

verb think of, regard, or classify under a subsuming principle or with a general group or in relation to another

originFrom Middle English referren, from Old French referer, from Latin referre. The noun (used in journalism) is from the verb. 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 3.0