favor

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfeɪ.və/ (UK); /ˈfeɪ.vɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English favour,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French favor (“a favour; approval, praise; partiality”) (13th century),^[4][2] from Latin favorem (“good will, inclination, support”),^[4][2] coined by Cicero from the stem of favēre “to show kindness to”.^[4][2] The root is Proto-Indo-European *ghow-e- (“to honour, revere”),^[4][2] which also gave Old Norse gá “to heed” and Old Church Slavonic gověti “to revere”.^[4][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Attractiveness, beauty, charm: probably before 1300 in Barnhart, in Kyng Alisaunder,^[2] about 1300 in Etymonline; this sense is now archaic.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Good will, kind regard, is from the mid-14th century,^[4] and an act of kindness from about 1380, in Chaucer's Parlement of Foules.^[2][4] Bias, partiality, is from the late 14th century,^[4] and a thing given as a token of favour from the late 15th century.^[4] In favor of is from the 1560s.^[4] The verb, to approve, support or indulge, is from about 1350,^[2][4] and “to resemble”, as a child favours a parent, from about 1600.^[4] Favorable is from before 1376, in Piers Plowman,^[2] favorite from 1583, from Italian favorito,^[2] and the American favorite son from 1825.^[2]

Timeline

• a. 1300 – attractiveness.^[2]
• c. 1350 – verb, to support.^[2]
• mid-14th century – good will.^[4]
• c. 1380 – an act of kindness.^[2]
• late 14th century – partiality.^[4]
• late 15th century – a token.^[4]
• 1560s – in favor of.^[4]
• 1583 – favorite.^[2]
• c. 1600 – to resemble.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A kind or helpful act done freely: do me a favor.
2. Approval or support; goodwill: found favor with the critics.
3. Unfair partiality; favouritism.
4. A small gift given to guests, as at a party.
5. in favor of: in support of.

Verb

1. To prefer or support.
2. To do a kindness for; to oblige.
3. To make easier; to facilitate: the weather favored the attack.
4. To treat with care; to spare: favoring his injured leg.
5. (informal) To look like: she favors her mother.

Word family

• favorer
• favoringly
• favorite
• favorable
• favored
• favoritism

Related words

• favour

Usage notes

Favor is the American spelling; in British English the word is spelled favour.^[5]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), 5th ed., Harlow: Pearson Longman