preferable

Etymology

The revised OED takes it as formed from English prefer + -able, probably on the model of French préférable, recorded in Middle French from 1516;^[2] the Merriam-Webster Unabridged, the Shorter Oxford and Klein simply derive it from the French adjective, formed from préférer (“to prefer”).^[3][4][5] The verb prefer is from Old French preferer and directly praeferō (“to place before, carry in front”), from prae- (“before”) and ferō (“to carry, bear”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry”).^[6] The OED compares Catalan preferible (1696), Spanish preferible (1532) and Italian preferibile (1686).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Worthy to be chosen before another; more desirable or suitable: 1606, in Thomas Palmer's essay on making travels more profitable.^[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to the 1640s, implied in preferableness,^[6] and Dictionary.com to 1640–50.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has kept its first sense, often followed by to ("preferable to").^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "eligible before something else", noting that to commonly comes before the thing refused.^[8] A sense "showing preference; preferential" was used from 1747, in Richardson's Clarissa, to 1811 and is now obsolete,^[2][3] as is the adverbial use "in preference to" (1683–1769).^[2] From 1702 the plural preferables rendered a term of Stoic philosophy, things to be preferred, in a translation of Cicero.^[2] In finance it has been used since 1837 for preferred shares and stock.^[2] The OED notes that the spelling preferrable would be the better English form but has not prevailed.^[6]

Timeline

• 1606 – worthy to be preferred, more desirable.^[2][3]
• 1640s – implied in preferableness, according to Etymonline.^[6]
• 1683 – adverb, in preference to (obsolete after 1769).^[2]
• 1702 – plural noun, things to be preferred, in Stoic philosophy.^[2]
• 1747 – showing preference, preferential (obsolete after 1811).^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson defines it as "eligible before something else".^[8]
• 1837 – in finance, preferred.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. More desirable or suitable than something else; worthy to be preferred: A train is preferable to a long drive.^{[9][3][10][2]}
2. (finance) Preferred, of shares or stock.^[2]
3. (obsolete) Showing preference; preferential.^[3][2]

Word family

• preferability
• preferably
• unpreferable

Related words

• prefer
• preference
• preferential
• preferment
• -able
• confer
• defer
• infer
• refer
• transfer
• bear

Usage notes

Because preferable already means "more desirable", Collins advises against saying more preferable or most preferable.^[10] The usual stress is on the first syllable, but Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com also record stress on the second, /prɪˈfɜr-/.^[3][7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins