Praeferunt

Praeferunt is the third-person plural present indicative active form of the Latin verb praefero, praeferre, praetuli, praelatus, meaning “they prefer” or “they place before.” The basic sense is to prefer one thing over another, or to regard something as more desirable or worthy.

Etymology and usage: The verb is built from prae- “before” and ferre “to carry,” literally “to carry before,” hence to place before in choice or esteem. In classical Latin it commonly expresses preference between items or persons. Syntactically, it takes the thing preferred in the accusative and the thing it is preferred to in the dative or a phrase indicating the comparison, e.g., librum ceteris libris praeferunt = “they prefer the book to the other books,” or diligently praeferunt illi virtuti = “they prefer diligence to virtue” (diligentiam virtuti praeferunt).

Principal forms: The verb’s principal parts are praefero, praeferre, praetuli, praelatus. Its present tense forms include praefero, praeferis, praeferit, praeferimus, praeferitis, praeferunt, with praeferunt specifically meaning “they prefer.”

In usage, praeferre appears in a variety of contexts ranging from everyday preference to moral or evaluative judgment. It is common in classical prose and poetry, and its Latin descendants influence modern Romance languages’ equivalents of “prefer.” See also related verb praeferre in various constructions and the passive praeferuntur, used when something is preferred by others.