qualify English · revision 7042

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1465|origins=la qualis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkwɒl.ɪ.faɪ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkwɑ.lɪ.faɪ/, /ˈkwɑ.lə.faɪ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|qualifier]] and directly [[bor|la-med|qualificare|t=to attribute a quality to]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|qualis|t=of what sort]] (see [[quality]]) and -ficāre, to make (see [[-fy]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To make a document legal by specifying time and place: 1465, in the Paston Letters;^(Barnhart 1988) to invest with a quality, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To limit or modify by a reservation is from the 1530s (1533, in Thomas More),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) as is the sense of taking the necessary steps to hold an office.^(Etymonline) To describe or name in a particular way is from 1549,^(OED 1989) and in grammar, of an adjective, to express a quality of a noun, from 1589.^(OED 1989) To be or become fit for an employment is by the 1580s (1581 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In sport, to reach a required standard for a later stage of a competition is a 20th-century use.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) In Surrey dialect it meant to become fit for use, of a horse.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1465 – to make a document legal.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1533 – to limit, modify.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1549 – to describe.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1581 – to make fit for an office.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1589 – in grammar.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To become entitled to something by meeting certain conditions.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pass the examinations or training for a [[profession]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make a statement less absolute by adding a reservation; to [[modify]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To reach a later stage of a competition by meeting a standard.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Of a word, to describe or limit the meaning of another word.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[qualifyingly]]

+ * [[misqualify]]

+ * [[overqualify]]

+ * [[qualifiable]]

+ * [[nonqualifying]]

+ * [[disqualify]]

+ * [[prequalify]]

+ * [[requalify]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[qualification]]

+ * [[disqualification]]

+ * [[prequalification]]

+ * [[requalification]]

+ * [[well-qualified]]

+ * [[unqualified]]

+ * [[quality]]

+ * [[qualitative]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}