Options, Settings, Properties, Configuration, Preferences — when and why?

Question

There are several words with similar (in some sense) meaning:

Options, Settings, Properties, Configuration, Preferences

English is n

Answer 1

These aren't set anywhere, but I figured I might as well chip in my 2¢ on the topic. When I see these in an application, this is what they imply to me:

• Settings: "View or modify the list of things that can be set"
• Options: "We have set some things already, and give you the option to change them"
• Preferences: "Tell us how you prefer this to work"
• Properties: "Change one or more properties of this item"
• Edit: "This thing is already in a good state, but you can change it if you like"
• Configuration: "We have defaults, but they're so barebones you probably want to configure it yourself"

Answer 2

One thing that I don't see in the answers here (although bobince alludes to it) is that you should consider what is typical for your environment/operating system. For instance on windows I think "Options" is the most common choice even though many programs use different words. Likewise "Preferences" for mac os. Android OS uses "Settings"

So bottom line, use what is most common for your environment.