prefero

Prefero is the Latin verb praeferō, meaning “to carry before” or “to prefer.” It is formed from the prefix prae- “before” and ferre “to bear.” The standard principal parts are praefērō, praeferre, praetulī, praelātum. In transliteration without diacritics this yields praefero, praeferre, praetuli, praelatum. The present indicative forms include praefērō (I prefer), praeferis (you prefer), praeferit (he/she prefers), and so on.

In classical Latin, praeferō covers two related senses: to place something physically before something else, and to choose or value one thing more highly than another. A common construction expresses the figurative sense: praeferre aliquid alicui rei, “to prefer something to something else.” A well-known example pattern is pacem bello praeferre, “to prefer peace to war.” The verb appears in both narrative and rhetorical contexts, often to compare options, priorities, or values.

Historical and linguistic significance: praeferō is the ancestor of the English verb prefer, via the Latin root praeferre and its transmission through the Romance languages (e.g., Old French preferer). The underlying components prae- “before” and ferre “to bear” continue to shape related vocabulary in Latin, its descendants, and related scholarly terminology. In Latin dictionaries and academic texts, praeferō and its forms are cited as standard references for expressing preference or forward placement in both literal and figurative senses.