Etymologically
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favor

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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
  • 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