Preferential

How to spell preferential

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce preferential

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does preferential mean?

1. adjectiveGiving or relating to special advantage or favourable treatment for a particular person or group.

Preferential in a sentence

• Loyal customers receive preferential rates on every booking.

• The trade deal gave member nations preferential access to the market.

Where does preferential come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adjective traces back to the Latin verb praeferre, which literally meant 'to carry before' or 'to set in front', built from prae meaning 'before' and ferre meaning 'to carry' or 'to bear'. From praeferre English developed the verb 'prefer', and the noun 'preference' followed; 'preferential' was then coined in English in the early 1800s by attaching the adjective ending -ential to that family, on the model of words like 'differential' and 'essential'. The sense moved naturally from the literal idea of carrying one thing ahead of another to the figurative idea of favouring one option, person, or rate over the rest. The same ferre root, meaning 'to carry', also lies behind a surprising crowd of English words including 'transfer' (carry across), 'refer' (carry back), and 'fertile' (bearing crops). The spelling trap is the unstressed middle: the 'fer' is easy to slur, and the ending sounds like 'shul' yet is written -tial, so writers must remember it follows the preference, prefer pattern with -ential rather than -encial.

How the word is built

• pre- (before)
• fer (from Latin ferre: to carry, bear)
• -ential (adjective suffix forming 'relating to preference')