different between prefer vs rob

English

Alternative forms

• præfer [16th-17th c.]
• preferre [14th-17th c.]

Etymology

From Middle English preferren, from Anglo-Norman preferer and Old French preferer, from Latin praefer?, praeferre. Displaced native Middle English foresettan and foreberan.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /p???f?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p???f??/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Verb

prefer (third-person singular simple present prefers, present participle preferring, simple past and past participle preferred)

1. (transitive) To be in the habit of choosing something rather than something else; to favor; to like better. [from 14^thc.]

   I'd prefer it if you didn't do it.

   • "My tastes," he said, still smiling, "incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet." And, to tease her and arouse her to combat: "I prefer a farandole to a nocturne; I'd rather have a painting than an etching; Mr. Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects; […]."
2. (transitive, now dated) To advance, promote (someone or something). [from 14^thc.]
   • 1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, p. 67,^[1]

     […] she was one of my Master’s Captives. For this Reason, I presume, it was, that she took so much Compassion upon me; considering herself a Slave in a strange Country, and only preferr’d to my Master’s Bed by Courtesy.

3. (transitive) To present or submit (something) to an authority (now usually in "to prefer charges"). [from 16^thc.]
   • 1803, Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, Letter 5, p. 137,^[2]

     At length the Maroons, who were delighted to have him with them, became discontented with his absence, and for several years, during the sessions of the House of Assembly, preferred repeated complaints against him.

4. (obsolete, transitive) To put forward for acceptance; to introduce, recommend (to). [16^th-19^thc.]
   • 1630, John Smith, The True Travels, Adventures, and Observations of Captaine Iohn Smith, London: Thomas Slater, Chapter 1, p. 2,^[3]

     one Master David Hume, who making some use of his purse, gave him Letters to his friends in Scotland to preferre him to King Iames.

   • 1817, Walter Scott, Rob Roy, Volume One, Chapter 17,^[4]

     Such were the arguments which my will boldly preferred to my conscience, as coin which ought to be current, and which conscience, like a grumbling shopkeeper, was contented to accept […].

Usage notes

• The verb can be used in three different forms:
  1. prefer + noun + to (or over) + noun. Example: I prefer coffee to tea.
  2. prefer + gerund + to (or over) + gerund. Example: I prefer skiing to swimming.
  3. prefer + full infinitive + rather than + bare infinitive. Example: I prefer to die honorably rather than live in shame. If the second verb is the same as the first, it can be elided: I prefer to eat fish rather than meat.

Inflection

Synonyms

• forechoose

Antonyms

• disprefer

Related terms

• nonpreferred
• preferable / preferrable
• preference
• preferendum
• preferential
• preferer / preferrer
• preferment
• preferred creditor, preferred provider, preferred stock, preferred stockholder
• unpreferred
• prelate

Translations

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pre?fer]

Verb

prefer

1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of prefera

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: r?b, IPA^(key): /??b/
• Rhymes: -?b
• (US) enPR: räb, IPA^(key): /??b/

Etymology 1

From Middle English robben, from Anglo-Norman robber, rober, Old French rober (“to rob”), from Medieval Latin raub? (“to rob, steal, plunder”), from Frankish *raub?n, *r?b?n (compare Dutch roven) and Old High German roub?n, raub?n (“to rob, steal, plunder”), from Proto-Germanic *raub?n?. Doublet of reave.

Verb

rob (third-person singular simple present robs, present participle robbing, simple past and past participle robbed)

1. (transitive) To steal from, especially using force or violence.

2. (transitive) To deprive of, or withhold from, unjustly or injuriously; to defraud.
3. (transitive, figuratively, used with "of") To deprive (of).

   • Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy […] distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its savour.

4. (transitive, slang) To burgle.
   • 2008, National Public Radio, All Things Considered, Sept 4, 2008

     Her house was robbed.

5. (transitive, Britain, slang) To steal.

   That chav robbed my phone!

6. (intransitive) To commit robbery.
7. (sports) To take possession of the ball, puck etc. from.

Derived terms

Related terms

• reave, bereave
• rip
• rubble, rubbish

Translations

Etymology 2

From French [Term?]; compare Spanish rob, Italian rob, robbo, Portuguese robe, arrobe, Persian ?????? (present stem: robâ) and also similar in Arabic.

Alternative forms

• rhob, rohob

Noun

rob (uncountable)

1. The inspissated juice of ripe fruit, obtained by evaporation of the juice over a fire until it reaches a syrupy consistency. It is sometimes mixed with honey or sugar.

Anagrams

• BOR, Bor, Bor., ORB, bor, bro, bro., orb

Afar

Etymology

From Proto-Cushitic. Cognates include Somali róob.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ob/
• Hyphenation: rob

Noun

rób m 

1. rain

Declension

References

• Loren F. Bliese (1981) A Generative Grammar of Afar?^[1], Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and University of Texas at Arlington (doctoral thesis)., page 5
• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985) , “rob”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, ?ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)?^[2], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis), page 171

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch rob.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [r?p]

Noun

rob (plural robbe)

1. seal (pinniped)

Synonyms

• (seal): seehond

Albanian

Etymology

From a South Slavic language, compare Serbo-Croatian rob, Macedonian ??? (rob), Bulgarian ??? (rob), ultimately derived from Proto-Slavic *orb? (“servant, slave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [??b]
• IPA^(key): [???b] (Gheg)

Noun

rob m (indefinite plural robër, definite singular robi, definite plural robërit)

1. (historical) slave
2. (historical) serf
3. prisoner of war
4. (figurative, derogatory) servant

rob m (indefinite plural rob, definite singular robi, definite plural robtë)

1. person, family member

Synonyms

• skllav, shërbëtor

Derived terms

• robëri, robëreshë, robinjë, robëroj, robi

References

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• rop

Etymology

From a Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *orb? (“slave”). Compare Daco-Romanian rob.

Noun

rob m (plural roghi, feminine equivalent roabã)

1. slave

Synonyms

• sclav

Derived terms

• rubuescu

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rop/
• Rhymes: -op
• Homophone: rop

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *orb? (“servant, slave”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?erb?- (“orphan, child slave or servant”)..Compare English robot and Serbo-Croatian rob.

Noun

rob m

1. (obsolete) slave, serf

Declension

Synonyms

• nevolník
• otrok
• rab

Derived terms

• rab
• rob?v

Related terms

• roba
• rob?
• robit
• robota
• robot

Etymology 2

Noun

rob f

1. genitive plural of roba

Etymology 3

Verb

rob

1. second-person singular imperative of robit

See also

• robte

Anagrams

• bor
• obr

References

Further reading

• rob in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• rob in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /r?p/
• Hyphenation: rob
• Rhymes: -?p

Etymology 1

Uncertain; compare English rabbit. Or, possibly related to Latvian rups (“coarse, rough”), referring to the whiskers. Also compared is the personal name Robbe. Has also compared to English rub, referring to seals' movements, but this is unlikely.

Noun

rob m (plural robben, diminutive robbetje n)

1. seal, any member of the family Phocidae

   Synonym: zeehond

Derived terms

• blaasrob
• kegelrob
• klapmutsrob
• manenrob
• pelsrob
• ringelrob
• stinkrob
• zadelrob
• zeerob

Descendants

• Afrikaans: rob

Etymology 2

Uncertain; compare English rabbit, as well as English rub, referring to the fur. Or, from Proto-West Germanic *reufan (“to tear”), hinted by the animals' digging of tunnels.

Noun

rob f (plural robben, diminutive robbeken n)

1. (Belgium) rabbit

   Synonym: konijn

Alternative forms

• robbe

Further reading

• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010) , “rob1”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute (seal)
• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010) , “rob5”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute (rabbit)

Middle English

Noun

rob

1. Alternative form of robe

Romanian

Etymology

From a Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *orb? (“slave”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?órb?os (“orphan”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rob/
• Rhymes: -ob

Noun

rob m (plural robi, feminine equivalent roab?)

1. slave

Declension

Synonyms

• sclav

Derived terms

• robie
• robi
• dezrobi

See also

• ?erb

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From West Slavic dialects, from Proto-Slavic *orb? (“slave”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?órb?os (“orphan”). Compare English robot and Russian ??????? (rabóta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rôb/

Noun

r?b m (Cyrillic spelling ????)

1. slave

Declension

References

• “rob” in Hrvatski jezi?ni portal

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [rop]

Verb

rob

1. second-person singular imperative of robi?

Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *r?b?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ró?p/

Noun

r??b m inan

1. border, edge

   Synonym: kónec

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ró?p/

Noun

r??b m anim

1. (obsolete) slave

   Synonym: súženj

Spanish

Etymology

See arrope

Noun

rob m (plural robes)

1. fruit syrup

Related terms

• arrope