Qualify
/ˈkwɒl.ɪ.faɪ/noun
To make or become fit, suitable, or eligible; or to state something with limits or conditions.
Did you know?‘Qualify’ comes from the same Latin root as ‘quality,’ ultimately tied to *qualis*—meaning ‘of what sort,’ a reminder that language once treated naming and judging as nearly the same act.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kʷo-
“Interrogative stem meaning ‘who? what?’”
Latin
Latin
qualis
“‘of what kind?’ or ‘of what sort?’”
Late Latin
Latin
qualificare
“To attribute a quality to; to describe or characterize”
Middle English
English
qualifien
“To modify, limit, or fit for a purpose”
Modern English
English
qualify
“To make fit or eligible; to restrict or modify a statement”
Explore more surprising origins