Confer and trounce old women (6)
I believe the answer is:
bestow
'confer' is the definition.
('bestow' can be a synonym of 'confer')
'trounce old women' is the wordplay.
'trounce' becomes 'best' (besting is a kind of trouncing).
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'women' becomes 'w'.
'best'+'o'+'w'='BESTOW'
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for bestow that I've seen before include "Award, present as a gift" , "Give as a gift" , "Present, donate" , "Grant" , "Endow, present" .)