qualifier

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
qualify/ˈkwɒlɪfʌɪ/

▶verb (qualifies, qualifying, qualified)

• 1 (often qualify for) be entitled to a benefit or privilege by fulfilling a necessary condition.

  ■ fulfil the necessary conditions to be eligible for a competition.

  ■ be or make properly entitled to be classed in a particular way.

• 2 become officially recognized as a practitioner of a profession or activity, typically by undertaking a course and passing examinations.

  ■ make competent or knowledgeable enough to do something.

• 3 make (a statement or assertion) less absolute.

  ■ archaic make less severe or extreme.

• 4 Grammar (of a word or phrase) attribute a quality to (another word, especially a preceding noun).

– derivatives
qualifiable adjective,
qualifier noun.

– origin ME (in the sense ‘describe in a particular way’): from Fr. qualifier, from med. L. qualificare, from L. qualis (see quality).