Etymologically
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preferable

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɹɛf.(ə.)ɹə.b(ə)l/[1]

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

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