Other forms: preferences
A preference is liking one thing more than another. Tea over coffee, the aisle seat over the window, the same corner table every single time.
You have a preference FOR something, and you choose one thing IN PREFERENCE TO another. The thing itself can be called your preference: my preference would be to leave before the traffic. Organisations give preference TO a group, which means treating them better than the rest — local families are given preference. In the plural it turns practical: dietary preferences on a form, language and notification preferences in a settings menu. It is a mild word, which is why saying you have no preference is the polite way of saying you do not mind.
1nounpreferenceA liking for one thing more than another.
“She has a clear preference for working early.”
2nounnounThe thing that someone likes more.
“My preference would be Thursday evening.”
3nounspecialSpecial treatment given to one person or group over others.
“Preference is given to applicants who live in the area.”
4nounsettingsThe settings that record how someone wants something to behave.
“You can change the language in your preferences.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
Preference reached English through Middle French from Medieval Latin preferentia, and its parts are plain: prefer with the noun ending -ence bolted on, the way difference sits on differ. Behind it lies the Proto-Indo-European root bʰer-, which Latin ferō belongs to as well.
Proto-Indo-European
*bʰer-
Middle French
preference
English, today
preference
From Middle French preference, from Medieval Latin - preferentia. a doublet of preferans. Morphologically prefer + ence. Compare typologically предвзя́тость (<< взять, a suppletive of брать, which is cognate with ferō).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA