praeferere

Praeferere is a Latin verb meaning to carry in front, to place before, and by extension to prefer or value more highly. It is a compound of prae- “before” and ferre “to bear,” and is formed from the verb family around ferre. The principal parts are praefero, praeferre, praetuli, praelatus, with the corresponding passive forms built from these.

In its present tense the verb follows the pattern of compound -ferre verbs. Present active indicative forms include praefero, praeferis, praeferit, praeferimus, praeferitis, praeferunt. The imperfect active is praeferēbam, praeferēbas, praeferēbat, praeferēbamus, praeferēbatis, praeferēbant. The future active is praeferam, praeferes, praeferet, praeferemus, praeferetis, praeferent. The perfect active is praetuli, the supine praelatum. Passive forms exist as praeferor, praefereris, praeferitur, praeferimur, praeferimini, praeferuntur, with the perfect passive participle praelatus used with sum to form the perfect passive.

Usage in Latin ranges from literal to figurative meanings. Literally, praeferere can mean to carry before or to place in front. Figuratively, it most often means to prefer, to value something more highly than something else. It can govern the dative of the person to whom something is preferred or, in comparative constructions, be used with quam to express preference between options. The sense extends to rhetorical and political contexts in which one option or person is ranked above another.

Etymologically, the word reflects the idea of placing something before others, whether in a physical or in a figurative sense. It remains a standard example of a compound ferre verb used in classical Latin.