favor

Alternative forms

• favour (Commonwealth, Ireland)

Etymology

From Middle English favour, favor, faver, from Anglo-Norman favour, from mainland Old French favor, from Latin favor (“good will; kindness; partiality”), from faveō (“to be kind to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Respelled in American English to more closely match its Latin etymon. Compare also Danish favør (“favor”), Irish fabhar (“favor”), from the same Romance source.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfeɪvɚ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfeɪvə/
• Rhymes: -eɪvə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: fa‧vor

Noun

favor (countable and uncountable, plural favors) (American spelling, alternative in Canada)

1. A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).

   He did me a favor when he took the time to drive me home.

2. Goodwill; benevolent regard.

   She enjoyed the queen's favor.

   to fall out of favor

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. […] She looked around expectantly, and recognizing Mrs. Cooke's maid […] Miss Thorn greeted her with a smile which greatly prepossessed us in her favor.

   • 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2:

     Samara: She confuses her victims, twists their feelings. They will do anything for her favor.

3. A small gift; a party favor.

   At the holiday dinner, the hosts had set a favor by each place setting.

   A marriage favour is a bunch or knot of white ribbons or white flowers worn at a wedding.

   • 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii]:

     Here, Fluellen; wear thou this favour for me and
     stick it in thy cap: when Alencon and myself were
     down together, I plucked this glove from his helm […]

   • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 22, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     The rain drove into the bride and bridegroom's faces as they passed to the chariot. The postilions' favours draggled on their dripping jackets.

4. Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity.
   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput):

     I could not discover the lenity and favour of this sentence.

5. The object of regard; person or thing favoured.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, / His chief delight and favour.

6. (obsolete) Appearance; look; countenance; face.
   • c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     This boy is fair, of female favour.

7. (law) Partiality; bias^[1]
8. (archaic) A letter, a written communication.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXVIII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     I will now take some notice of your last favour; but being so far behind-hand with you, must be brief.

9. (obsolete) Anything worn publicly as a pledge of a woman's favor.
   • 1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 13:

     James probably saw the family treasures, which included a little pair of gloves embroidered with pearls and the device of a lion, a lady's favour, said to have been taken from Harry Hotspur before the battle of Otterburn in 1388.

10. (historical) A ribbon or similar small item that is worn as an adornment, especially in celebration of an event.
    • 1853 May, E.R. Bowen, “Bride-Maids and Bride-Cake”, in Peterson's Magazine, volume 23, number 5, page 306:

      The bride favors, or true love knots, ancient symbols of love, faith, and friendship, pointing out the indisssoluble tie of affection and duty, did not, as might be supposed, take their name of true love knots from the words "true" and "love,", but from the Danish verb "Trulofa," that is, "I plight my troth of faith." These knots were formerly distributed in great abundance; were worn in the hats by gentlemen, and consisted of variously colored ribbons, which were chosen by the bride and her maids, sometimes after long and serious discussions.

    • 1898, Melvin Ballou Gilbert, The Director - Volume 1, page 210:

      Of all the new war cotillion favors yet devised there is hardly anything more novel than these. Aigrettes that are bunches of ribbons, red, white and blue, designed to be pinned in the hair at once, make up another favor.

    • 1900, “From Abroad”, in The International, volume 8, page 415:

      Since the good news young folk—and old, too, for that matter—bedeck themselves with favors. Charms hand pendent from the watch chain, from neck pins.

    • 1991, Anthony G. Barrand, Six Fools and a Dancer: The Timeless Way of the Morris, page 178:

      We can and should borrow choice items, such as bell pads, favors and flowered hats , which can easily be adapted […]

    • 2013, R. Turner Wilcox, The Mode in Hats and Headdress, page 109:

      […] honor was bestowed upon the latter because he was the proud possessor of luxurious blond hair and had the most beautiful single curl tied with a ribbon. The lovelock was thereafter called a cadcnettc and the ribbon bowknots, favors.

Verb

favor (third-person singular simple present favors, present participle favoring, simple past and past participle favored) (US, alternative in Canada, transitive)

1. To look upon fondly; to prefer.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:28:

     And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white.

2. To use more often.
   • 2007, Bert Casper, Shadow Upon the Dream: Book 1: Barrûn, page 537:

     […] alone, without having to favor his right, uninjured leg, […]

3. To encourage, conduce to
   • 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)‎:

     These [boys being groomed as prostitutes] are sold by their parents (sometimes stolen from them), about the age of 4, and educated, while they are also subjected to a special physical training, which includes massage of the gluteal regions to favor development, dilatation of the anus, and epilation (which is not, however, practised by Chinese women).

4. To do a favor [noun sense 1] for; to show beneficence toward.

   Would you favor us with a poetry reading?

5. To treat with care.

   Favoring your sore leg will only injure the other one.

6. (in dialects, including Southern US and Cajun) To resemble; especially, to look like (another person).
   • 1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug:

     ‘Mandy?’ he said, and stared at the girl. ‘Don't favor her too much.’ ‘Favors her dad,’ Latha said, and looked at him.

   • 1989, Rayford Clayton Reddell, Robert Galyean, Growing Fragrant Plants, page 13:

     […] chamomile and apples? Those particular smellalikes tested our imagination. Yet much of what he said was right on the mark. The scent of sweet peas, for instance, does indeed favor that of wisteria.

   • 2012, Rick Bass, A Thousand Deer: Four Generations of Hunting and the Hill Country, →ISBN, page 63:

     The way things repeat themselves, across time — not just in the replications and recombinations of family and place ("He favors his momma, she favors her daddy"), but in the accretion of like patterns […]

References

• “favor”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Etymology

From Latin favōrem. First attested in the 14th century.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [fəˈβor]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [fəˈvo]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [faˈvoɾ]

• Audio (Valencia):

  (file)

Noun

favor m or (archaic, regional or poetic) f (plural favors)

1. favour

References

Further reading

• “favor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “favor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “favor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Etymology

From Portuguese favor.

Noun

favor

1. favour
2. pleasure

Etymology

From faveō (“I am well disposed or inclined toward, favor, countenance, befriend”) +‎ -or.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.u̯or/, [ˈfäu̯ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.vor/, [ˈfäːvor]

Noun

favor m (genitive favōris); third declension

1. good will, inclination, partiality, favor

   Synonym: beneficium

   Antonyms: maleficium, iniūria, dētrīmentum, noxa, calamitās

2. support

References

• “favor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “favor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• favor in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• favor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be favoured by Fortune; to bask in Fortune's smiles: fortunae favore or prospero flatu fortunae uti (vid. sect. VI. 8., note uti...)
    
  • to find favour with some one; to get into their good graces: benevolentiam, favorem, voluntatem alicuius sibi conciliare or colligere (ex aliqua re)
    
  • popular favour; popularity: aura favoris popularis (Liv. 22. 26)
    
  • popular favour; popularity: populi favor, gratia popularis
    
• “favor”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Noun

favor

1. Alternative form of favour

Alternative forms

• fa vor (rare)

Etymology

From Old Norse faðir (“father”) + vár (“our”), from Proto-Germanic *fadēr + *unseraz, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Compare Shetlandic fy vor.

Noun

favor

1. (Orkney) our father

Etymology

From Latin favor.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

favor f (plural favors)

1. favor

Etymology

From Latin favor (“favour; good will”), from faveō (“to favour”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰoweh₁ (“to notice”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -oɾ, (Brazil) -oʁ
• Hyphenation: fa‧vor

Noun

favor m (plural favores)

1. favor (instance of voluntarily assisting someone)
2. favor; goodwill (benevolent regard)

   Synonyms: (obsolete) favorança, graça, mercê

Adverb

favor (not comparable)

1. (before a verb in the infinitive) please (seen on warnings and the like)

   Favor não pisar na grama.

   Please don't step on the grass.

Noun

favor n (plural favoruri)

1. Alternative form of favoare

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin favōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faˈboɾ/ [faˈβ̞oɾ]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: fa‧vor

Noun

favor m (plural favores)

1. favor/favour

   Hazme un favor.

   Do me a favour.

Further reading

• “favor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Etymology

Compare Italian favore

Noun

favor m (plural favuri)

1. favour