favorite

Forms

• favourite (UK)

Etymology

It is borrowed from French favorit (now favori, favorite),^[2][3][4] perhaps via Italian favorito,^[2] the past participle of favorire (“to favor”),^[5][3] from favore “favor”, from Latin favor (“inclination, partiality, support”).^[2][5] Merriam-Webster derives the word directly from the Italian.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person or thing regarded with particular favor and preferred above others: 1583,^[6][5] or the 1580s.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the 1590s a favorite was especially one who stood unduly high in the favor of a prince or other superior and gained influence over him.^[2][6] In the 17th and 18th centuries the word also named a curl of hair hanging loose on the temple, a common feature of women's headdress.^[2][6] In racing, the competitor most likely to win is from 1813.^[2][6] The adjective, “regarded with particular liking”, is by 1711,^[2][6] although Johnson still listed such uses under the noun.^[6] Favorite son, a man popular and boasted of in his native area, is by 1788, and in the United States especially a politician who is the choice of his own state.^[2] Latin had fautor for a person who promotes another's interests, whence Middle English fautour “supporter” from the mid-14th century, but that word has died out.^[2]

Timeline

• 1583 – a person or thing preferred above others.^[6][5]
• 1590s – a favorite of a prince.^[2][6]
• 1690 – a curl of hair on the temple.^[6]
• 1711 – adjective, regarded with particular liking.^[2][6]
• 1788 – favorite son.^[2]
• 1813 – the competitor most likely to win.^[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person or thing liked or preferred above all others.
2. A person specially trusted and given favors by someone of high rank, such as a monarch.
3. A competitor judged most likely to win.
4. (computing) A saved link to a website; a bookmark.

Adjective

1. Liked or preferred above all others.

Word family

• favoritism
• nonfavorite
• unfavorite

Related words

• favor
• favorable

Usage notes

Favourite is the British spelling.^[4][7] Merriam-Webster records a dialect pronunciation ending in -ite, rhyming with “bite”.^[8]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster