Etymologically
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prefer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /prɪˈfɜː/, US /prəˈfɝː/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English preferren,[2][3] borrowed from Old French preferer (14th century),[2][3][4] and directly from Latin praeferre (“to carry in front, place before, prefer”),[2][3][4] from prae “before” and ferre “to carry, bear”,[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *bher- (“to carry”).[2] It is related to bear, refer and offer.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To put forward or advance in rank or fortune, to promote: 1388 in the OED,[6] before 1393 in Barnhart, in Gower's Confessio Amantis, where it also means “to like better”.[3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning “to value one thing more than others, set before others in liking” is also from the late 14th century,[2][7] and it is now the usual sense;[2] the older sense, promotion, survives in preferment.[2] To put something before someone for acceptance, and in law to bring forward a charge, as in prefer charges, is from 1573.[6][8] To advance oneself, to further a result, and to set in front are obsolete.[6] Preference first meant advancement (1456),[3] preferable is from 1648,[3] and preferably from 1729.[3]

Timeline

  • 1388 – to promote in rank.[6]
  • a. 1393 – to like better.[3]
  • 1456 – preference, advancement.[3]
  • 1573 – to put forward for consideration.[6]
  • 1648 – preferable.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To like or choose one thing rather than another.
  2. (law) To bring a charge before a court.
  3. (law) To give priority to a creditor.
  4. (archaic) To promote or advance in rank.

Word family

  • preferrer
  • preferredness
  • preferable
  • preference
  • preferential
  • preferment
  • preferred provider
  • preferred stock
  • unpreferred
  • bear
  • refer
  • offer
  • confer

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin