Qualified

How to spell qualified

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce qualified

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does qualified mean?

1. adjectiveHaving the training, skills, or official credentials needed for a particular role or task.
2. adjectiveNot absolute or unconditional; restricted by certain reservations or conditions.
3. verbPast tense of qualify: met the required standard or became eligible for something.

Qualified in a sentence

• adjective

  The clinic hires only qualified nurses for its night shifts.

• adjective

  The board gave only qualified approval to the new budget.

• verb

  The runner qualified for the final with her best time of the season.

• adjective

  A qualified electrician inspected the wiring before the sale.

• adjective

  The report was a qualified success, useful but far from complete.

• verb

  The household qualified for the energy rebate after the review.

Where does qualified come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin qualis, meaning 'of what kind' or 'of what sort', the same root that gives us 'quality'. Medieval Latin built the verb qualificare, literally 'to make of a certain kind' or 'to attribute a quality to something', by joining qualis to facere 'to make'. French took this up as qualifier, and English borrowed it in the sixteenth century, first in the sense of describing or limiting something by stating its qualities. From there the meaning broadened: to 'qualify' came to mean making someone fit or competent for a role, and the past form 'qualified' settled into its everyday senses of being properly trained and of being limited or hedged. The silent way the middle vowels blur together is the main spelling trap, since the unstressed 'i' in 'quali-' is easy to drop.

How the word is built

• qual- (from Latin qualis: of what kind)
• -fic- (from facere: to make)
• -ed (past tense / adjective suffix)