predilectedadj.
/ˌpriːdᵻˈlɛktᵻd/, U.S. /ˌprɛdlˈɛktəd/, /ˌprɛdəˈlɛktəd/, /ˌpridlˈɛktəd/, /ˌpridəˈlɛktəd/ Specially favoured or preferred; = predilect adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [adjective] > relating to preference > chosen in preference to others
predilectc1475
pre-electc1475
elective1643
preferable1747
preferential1754
predilected1767
preferred1777
1767 W. Harte Amaranth 197 Heav'n to its pre-dilected children grants The middle space 'twixt opulence and wants.
1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer iv. 128 He may be able to pitch on some predilected spot, and there build himself a home.
1897 Times 23 Apr. 8/3 Her food most predilected is the heart.
1942 Amer. Anthropologist 44 127 Lehmann, who was Seler's predilected disciple, was well-equipped to make an adequate translation of the old document.
1965 J. A. Michener Source (1966) 145 Of all the peoples available to him in the teeming area between the Euphrates and the Nile, he had chosen these Hebrews as his predilected people.
1989 J. McPhee Control of Nature (1991) 264 He had built his house as close as he could to his predilected mountains.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1767