Prefer

How to spell prefer

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce prefer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prefer mean?

1. verbTo like one thing or option better than another.

Prefer in a sentence

• Many commuters prefer the train over a long drive to work.

• Many people prefer tea in the morning and coffee after lunch.

Where does prefer come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb praeferre, formed from prae meaning 'before' and ferre meaning 'to carry' or 'to bear'. Literally it meant 'to carry before' or 'to set in front', and from that physical image grew the figurative sense of placing one thing ahead of another in your regard. English took it up in the late 1300s through Old French preferer, keeping the meaning of holding one option in higher esteem than the rest. The same ferre root that means 'to carry' shows up in a whole family of English words such as 'transfer', 'refer', and 'infer', which all share that idea of carrying or bearing something. A useful spelling note: the single r of 'prefer' doubles only when a stressed-ending suffix is added, giving 'preferred' and 'preferring' but a single r in 'preference'.

How the word is built

• pre- (before)
• fer (from Latin ferre: to carry, to bear)