prefer

Definitions

General English

Commerce

  • verb to like something better than another thing

Law

  • verb to pay one creditor before any others
  • verb to bring something before a court

Origin & History of “prefer”

To prefer one thing is etymologically to ‘carry it before’ others. The word comes via Old French preferer from Latin praeferre ‘set before’, a compound verb formed from the prefix prae- ‘before’ and ferre ‘carry’ (source of English fertile and related to bear).
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