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Origin and history of prefer

prefer(v.)

late 14c., preferren, "to put forward or advance in rank or fortune, to promote (to an office, dignity, or position); further (one's interest)," from Old French preferer (14c.) and directly from Latin praeferre "place or set before, carry in front," from prae "before" (see pre-) + ferre "to carry, to bear," from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children."

The meaning "to esteem or value (something) more than others, set before others in liking or esteem" also is recorded from late 14c. and is now the usual sense. The other sense in English is preserved in preferment.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to prefer

preferment(n.)

mid-15c., preferrement, "furtherance of an undertaking; advancement or promotion in status; a prior claim or right," from prefer + -ment. From 1530s as "a superior place or office," especially in the Church.

preferable(adj.)

"worthy to be preferred, more desirable," 1640s (implied in preferableness), from or on model of French préférable, from préfér (see prefer). OED [2nd. ed. print, 1989] notes that the spelling preferrable is better English but has not prevailed. Related: Preferably; preferability.

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preference
mid-15c., preferraunce, "advancement in position or status;" 1650s as "act of prefering," from Old French preference (14c., Modern French préférence), from Medieval Latin preferentia, from past-participle stem of Latin praeferrere "place or set before, carry in front" (see prefer
prelate
c. 1200, "ecclesiastic of high rank, bishop, pope, superior of a religious house," from Old French prelat (Modern French prélate) and directly from Medieval Latin prelatus "clergyman of high rank," from Latin praelatus "one preferred," noun use of past participle of praeferre "pl
favor
c. 1300, "attractiveness, beauty, charm" (archaic), from Old French favor "a favor; approval, praise; applause; partiality" (13c., Modern French faveur), from Latin favorem (nominative favor) "good will, inclination, partiality, support," coined by Cicero from stem of favere "to
beneath
The meaning "unworthy of" is attested from 1849 (purists prefer below in this sense)....
photograph
Neo-Anglo-Saxonists prefer sunprint; and sun-picture (1846) was an early Englishing of the word....
Ojibwa
Some modern Chippewas prefer anishinaabe, which means "original people."...
rip
For this, precisians prefer the more accurate rip current, introduced for the purpose in 1936, but rip tide remains the popular...
yap
1660s, "bark as a (small) dog," earlier as a noun, "yapping dog" (c. 1600), probably of imitative origin. Compare verb yamph in same sense (1718). Originally in reference to dog sounds; meaning "to talk idle chatter" is first recorded 1886. Related: Yapped; yapping. As a noun, 18
pay
c. 1200, paien, "to appease, pacify, satisfy, be to the liking of," from Old French paier "to pay, pay up" (12c., Modern French payer), from Latin pacare "to please, pacify, satisfy" (in Medieval Latin especially "satisfy a creditor"), literally "make peaceful," from pax (genitiv
promote
late 14c., promoten, "to advance (someone) to a higher grade or office, exalt or raise to a higher post or position," from Old French promoter and directly from Latin promotus, past participle of promovere "move forward, advance; cause to advance, push onward; bring to light, rev

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