Etymologically
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qualify

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkwɒl.ɪ.faɪ/ (UK); /ˈkwɑ.lɪ.faɪ/, /ˈkwɑ.lə.faɪ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French qualifier and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin qualificare (“to attribute a quality to”),[2][3][4] from qualis (“of what sort”) (see quality) and -ficāre, to make (see -fy).[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make a document legal by specifying time and place: 1465, in the Paston Letters;[2] to invest with a quality, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

To limit or modify by a reservation is from the 1530s (1533, in Thomas More),[3][2] as is the sense of taking the necessary steps to hold an office.[3] To describe or name in a particular way is from 1549,[6] and in grammar, of an adjective, to express a quality of a noun, from 1589.[6] To be or become fit for an employment is by the 1580s (1581 in the OED).[3][6] In sport, to reach a required standard for a later stage of a competition is a 20th-century use.[7][8] In Surrey dialect it meant to become fit for use, of a horse.[9]

Timeline

  • 1465 – to make a document legal.[2]
  • 1533 – to limit, modify.[2]
  • 1549 – to describe.[6]
  • 1581 – to make fit for an office.[6]
  • 1589 – in grammar.[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To become entitled to something by meeting certain conditions.
  2. To pass the examinations or training for a profession.
  3. To make a statement less absolute by adding a reservation; to modify.
  4. To reach a later stage of a competition by meeting a standard.
  5. (grammar) Of a word, to describe or limit the meaning of another word.

Word family

  • qualifyingly
  • misqualify
  • overqualify
  • qualifiable
  • nonqualifying
  • disqualify
  • prequalify
  • requalify
  • qualification
  • disqualification
  • prequalification
  • requalification
  • well-qualified
  • unqualified
  • quality
  • qualitative

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)