英和和英

語源

From prefer +‎ -able, probably after Middle French preferable. Compare preference, preferential, etc.

発音

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA: /ˈpɹɛf.(ə.)ɹə.b(ə)l/
• (General Australian) IPA: /ˈpɹef.(ə.)ɹə.b(ə)l/
• (New Zealand) IPA: /ˈpɹef.ɹə.b(ə)l/
• IPA: /pɹəˈfɜː.ɹə.b(ə)l/ (less common)

形容詞

preferable (comparative more preferable, superlative most preferable)

1. Better than some other option; preferred.
   • 1756, George Benson, “The Præface. To the First Edition.”, in The History of the First Planting of the Christian Religion: Taken from the Acts of the Apostles, and Their Epistles. Together with the Remarkable Facts of the Jewish and Roman History; Which Affected the Christians, Within This Period., the second edition, volume the first, London: […] J. Waugh and W. Fenner, page v:

     This work has been the care and ſtudy of ſome years; as far as health, and other affairs, would permit. For, this appeared, to the author, of as much greater importance, than any other hiſtory whatever; as morality and religion are more excellent, than any temporal affairs; and the hiſtory of true religion, præferrable to that of impoſtures and deluſions.

   • 2007, Ted Honderich, On political means and social ends, →ISBN, page 94:

     It is not to the point that an inequality of material goods, at high levels, may not be preferable to an equality of material goods at a lower level, precisely for such reasons as self-respect.

   • 2019 September 17, Kendall Trammell, “Merriam-Webster adds the nonbinary pronoun ‘they’ to its dictionary”, in CNN‎:

     While adopting the pronoun as a nonbinary description is vastly preferable for some, Merriam-Webster says, there has also been some debate that it is ungrammatical.

   • 2021 August 17, Elizabeth Wallace and Kai Burkhardt, “12 breathable face masks to protect you while exercising”, in CNN‎:

     If you’re looking for the most breathable mask, Lukovics says, “Cotton is preferable, mainly for absorbing moisture/sweat.” She says multiple layers may be more protective but will also impact breathability.

派生語

参照