Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Reference

Reference (r?f"?r-ens) , noun

[See Refer.]

1.
The act of referring, or the state of being referred; as, reference to a chart for guidance.
2.
That which refers to something; a specific direction of the attention; as, a reference in a text-book.
3.
Relation; regard; respect.
Something that hath a reference to my state. — Shakespeare
4.
One who, or that which, is referred to.
(a)
One of whom inquires can be made as to the integrity, capacity, and the like, of another.
(b)
A work, or a passage in a work, to which one is referred.
5.
(a) (Law) The act of submitting a matter in dispute to the judgment of one or more persons for decision.
(b)
(Law) The process of sending any matter, for inquiry in a cause, to a master or other officer, in order that he may ascertain facts and report to the court.
6.
Appeal. [Rare]
Make your full reference. — Shakespeare
Collocations (1)
Reference Bible , a Bible in which brief explanations, and references to parallel passages, are printed in the margin of the text.