preferencia

preference

noun preh-feh-REN-syah Less Common

Origin: From Latin praeferentia, from praeferre, 'to carry before'.

Usage Note

Preferencia is followed by por when specifying what is preferred (tiene preferencia por el café). In traffic law, tener preferencia or ceder la preferencia means to have or yield right of way — a common use in driving contexts across the Spanish-speaking world.

Examples

"Tiene una clara preferencia por los libros de historia."

Natural Translation

She has a clear preference for history books.

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