To assign to an outsider, to subcontract. This term, which originated in the mid-1600s, at that time meant to lease land. Its current meaning dates from the 1900s. It is gradually being replaced by outsource, with the same meaning. Thus, “The publisher can’t afford an in-house copy editor so it farms out that work to freelancers” or “When you phone your Internet provider you often get someone from India or Bangladesh; they outsource all their calls.”