Reference as Establishing Relation Through Carrying; Relation as Carried Connections

I was delighted this week to discover that there is an etymological link between “reference” (in the usual librarian sense) and relation/relational that perfectly connects with my topic of carrier bags, information spaces, and relational thinking. Apparently > “reference” comes from the Latin referre, from re- (“back”) and ferre (“to carry, to bear”), meaning “to carry back” or “to report.”

It turns out that “relation” and “relational” derive from relatus, the past participle of referre, meaning “carried back” or “reported.” and from relatio, the noun form built from that stem.

This is probably a little bit of a stretch, but: reference is carrying something back in order to place it into relation; relations are what result once something has been carried back. Or: reference is the carrier bag that holds “beautiful, edible, or useful” knowledge; relationality is the web of connections that forms through the act of carrying back.

“The basic bibliographical act is to mention a document and a list of such mentions is a bibliography. The mention may simply an allusion or it could include a detailed description. Refer and reference derive from the Latin verb ferre, which means to carry, and the prefix remeaning “back.” Relate and related derive from the irregular past participle (latum) of the same verb. They indicate an already established referring and so related means that one thing has been referred to another. Referring, mentioning, and alluding do not necessarily convey meaning. However, using a name and the manner of referring tend generate meaning.” - (Buckland 2018)

Buckland, Michael. The Expansion of Bibliography : Dog-Stone, Antelope, and Evidence. May 16, 2018. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0bj042km.