Where does “preferable” come from?
Preferable comes from French préférable, composed of the Middle French verb preferer and the Old French suffix -able, which derives from Latin -abilis and the Latin thematic vowel -i-.
preferable (English): Better than some other option; preferred
Definitions
- Better than some other option; preferred
Ancestry of “preferable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | prefer | To be in the habit of choosing something rather... |
| 2 | Middle English | preferren | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | preferer | to prefer; to prioritize |
| 4 | Latin | praefero | I bear, hold or carry before or forth; I carry... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | praiferō | — |
Words derived from “preferable”