• favour(Commonwealth,Ireland)

FromMiddle Englishfavour,favor,faver, fromAnglo-Normanfavour, from mainlandOld Frenchfavor, fromLatinfavor(“good will; kindness; partiality”), fromfaveō(“to be kind to”), ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂weh₁yeti(“to be favourable to”), from the rootProto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-(“to shine, glow light”). Respelled inAmerican English to more closely match its Latin etymon. Compare alsoDanishfavør(“favor”),Irishfabhar(“favor”), from the same Romance source.

• (US)IPA^(key):/ˈfeɪvɚ/

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

favor (countable anduncountable,pluralfavors)(American spelling, alternative inCanada)

1. Akind orhelpfuldeed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).

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

2. Goodwill; benevolent regard.

   She enjoyed the queen'sfavor.

   to fall out offavor

   • 1897 December (indicated as1898),Winston Churchill, chapter V, inThe 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 herfavor.

   • 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 herfavor.

3. A small gift; aparty favor.

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

   A marriagefavour 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”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene vii]:

     Here, Fluellen; wear thou thisfavour 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, inVanity Fair […], London:Bradbury and Evans […], published1848,→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 andfavour of this sentence.

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

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

6. (obsolete) Appearance; look; countenance; face.
   • c.1598–1600 (date written),William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene ii]:

     This boy is fair, of femalefavour.

7. (law) Partiality; bias^[1]
8. (archaic) Aletter, a written communication.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXVIII”, inClarissa. 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 lastfavour; 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, page13:

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

10. (historical) Aribbon or similar small item that is worn as anadornment, especially in celebration of an event.
    • 1853 May, E.R. Bowen, “Bride-Maids and Bride-Cake”, inPeterson's Magazine, volume23, number 5, page306:

      The bridefavors, 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, page210:

      Of all the new war cotillionfavors 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 anotherfavor.

    • 1900, “From Abroad”, inThe International, volume 8, page415:

      Since the good news young folk—and old, too, for that matter—bedeck themselves withfavors. 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, page178:

      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, page109:

      […] 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.

• Favor is the standard US spelling, and an alternative in Canada.Favour is the standard spelling in Canada and outside North America.
• English speakers usually "do someone a favor" (rather than *"make them a favor", which would be sense 3 only). SeeAppendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take for uses and meaning offavor collocated with these words.

favor (third-person singular simple presentfavors,present participlefavoring,simple past and past participlefavored)(US, alternative inCanada,transitive)

1. To look uponfondly; toprefer.
   • 1611,The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker, […],→OCLC,Luke1:28:

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

   • 1963,Margery Allingham, chapter 6, inThe 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 kindfavoured 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, page537:

     […] alone, without having tofavor his right, uninjured leg,[…]

3. Toencourage,conduce to
   • 1927, Havelock Ellis,Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)‎^[1]:

     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 tofavor 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 showbeneficence 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. (indialects, includingSouthern US andCajun) To resemble; especially, to look like (another person).
   • 1970,Donald Harington,Lightning Bug:

     ‘Mandy?’ he said, and stared at the girl. ‘Don'tfavor her too much.’ ‘Favors her dad,’ Latha said, and looked at him.

   • 1989, Rayford Clayton Reddell, Robert Galyean,Growing Fragrant Plants, page13:

     […] 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 indeedfavor that of wisteria.

   • 2012,Rick Bass,A Thousand Deer: Four Generations of Hunting and the Hill Country,→ISBN, page63:

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

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

FromLatinfavōrem. First attested in the 14th century.^[1]

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

• Audio(Valencia):

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favor m or(archaic, regional or poetic)f (pluralfavors)

1. favour

• a favor de
• afavorir
• en favor de
• per favor

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

FromPortuguesefavor.

favor

1. favour
2. pleasure

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

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

favor m (genitivefavōris);third declension

1. good will,inclination,partiality,favor

   Synonym:beneficium

   Antonyms:maleficium,iniūria,dētrīmentum,noxa,calamitās

2. support

Third-declension noun.

• favōrābilis

• “favor”, inCharlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879)A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “favor”, inCharlton T. Lewis (1891)An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "favor", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’sGlossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• favor inGaffiot, Félix (1934)Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894)Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London:Macmillan and Co.
  • to be favoured by Fortune; to bask in Fortune's smiles:fortunae favore orprospero flatu fortunae uti (vid. sect. VI. 8., noteuti...)
    
  • to find favour with some one; to get into their good graces:benevolentiam, favorem, voluntatem alicuius sibi conciliare orcolligere (ex aliqua re)
    
  • popular favour; popularity:aura favoris popularis (Liv. 22. 26)
    
  • popular favour; popularity:populi favor, gratia popularis
    
• William Dwight Whitney,Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “favor”, inThe Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.:The Century Co.,→OCLC.

favor

1. Alternative form offavour

• favor(rare)

FromOld Norsefaðir(“father”) +vár(“our”), fromProto-Germanic*fadēr +*unseraz, fromProto-Indo-European*ph₂tḗr. Compare Shetlandicfyvor.

favor

1. (Orkney)ourfather

FromLatinfavor.

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favor f (pluralfavors)

1. favor

• desfavor

• favorable
• favorir
• favorisar
• favorit
• favoritisme
• favorablament
• afavorir
• en favor de
• a favor de
• per favor
• faire una favor
• dar les favors

FromLatinfavor(“favour; good will”), fromfaveō(“to favour”), fromProto-Indo-European*gʰoweh₁(“to notice”).

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

favor m (pluralfavores)

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

   Synonyms:(obsolete)favorança,graça,mercê

• a favor de
• em favor de
• fazer o favor de
• por favor

• Macanese:favôr

favor (notcomparable)

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.

favor n (pluralfavoruri)

1. Alternative form offavoare

Borrowed fromLatinfavōrem.

• IPA^(key):/faˈboɾ/[faˈβ̞oɾ]

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• Rhymes:-oɾ
• Syllabification:fa‧vor

favor m (pluralfavores)

1. favor/favour

   Hazme unfavor.

   Do me afavour.

• “favor”, inDiccionario 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

CompareItalianfavore

favor m (pluralfavuri)

1. favour