Learn English – Is it “transferrer” or “transferer”

doubled-consonantsnounsorthography

According to thefreedictionary, "transferrer" is someone who transfers something. However, it also lists the alternate spelling "transferer", with only one r in the middle. For the related "transferred", it does not list a variant with only one r.

So, which one is correct? Is there a geographical preference to using one or the other?

This reminds me of a famous misspelling in the specification for the HTTP protocol used by the internet, "referer", which as generally established should have been spelled "referrer". Now as "referrer" relates to the verb "to refer" and "referral", and there is "transferral", it seems logical to me that "transferrer" is spelled with two r as well. However, thefreedictionary again also lists "transferer".

Note that I am not asking about why the consonant is doubled, but which of both variants that seem to be common is the correct one.

Best Answer

The word transfer is stressed on the first syllable as a noun, and either the first or second syllable as a verb.

In general, you double an "r" at the end of a word when the second syllable is stressed (referrer, referred), but not when the second syllable is unstressed (caterer, catered).

Since transferred is treated as though the second syllable is stressed, presumably transferrer should be as well.

Google Ngrams shows an overwhelming performance for transferor, both in the U.S. and in the U.K.

You could argue that transferor has a specialized meaning, in that it only applies to legal transfers of title and property, and that transferrer should be the word for other meanings. However, since transferor is much more common and probably more widely recognized by spell checkers, I am sure it is sometimes used for the non-legal meaning. I don't know how frequent this usage is.