faveur

Forms

faveur f (plural faveurs)^[1] Old French favor (about 1150), remade as faveur at the end of the 12th century.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin favor (“goodwill, partiality, applause”), from faveō (“to favour, approve”).^[3][2][4][5] Rey notes that the Latin verb was first a religious term for the goodwill of the gods.^[2] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *ghow-e- (“to honour, revere”).^[6]

Compare Occitan favor, Spanish favor and Italian favore.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bloch and Wartburg date the word to about 1150.^[8] The Treasury of the French Language takes its first record from the Old French Job (late 12th or early 13th century), with the sense of a disposition to grant someone an advantage.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The word took over the Latin sense, readiness to prefer someone.^[2] From it came the phrases en la faveur de “for the benefit of” (1315), later en faveur de, and à la faveur de “thanks to” (1580, Montaigne).^[3][2] By extension, about 1355, it meant the credit one has with someone, as in être en faveur.^[2][5] In the classical period it could mean “resource” (1669).^[2][5] The plural faveurs came to mean the marks of preference a woman gives a man (1631), whence dernières faveurs (1632, Corneille).^[2][3]

A faveur was also a woman's light scarf (1557) and is now a narrow ribbon (1690, Furetière), because a scarf and then a ribbon was given by a lady to her knight as a token of preference (1564).^[3][2][8] English borrowed the Old French word about 1300 as favor.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – Favor is first recorded.^[2][8]
• Late 12th century – The form faveur appears.^[2][3]
• 1315 – En la faveur de “for the benefit of”.^[3]
• c. 1355 – It means credit with someone.^[2][5]
• 1557 – It names a woman's light scarf.^[3]
• 1564 – A scarf or ribbon given by a lady to her knight.^[8][5]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses à la faveur de.^[3]
• 1631 – Faveurs for a woman's marks of preference.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records it for a narrow ribbon.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A disposition to give someone help or advantages in preference to others; goodwill.^[9][3][5]
2. Standing with the public or with a powerful person;^[9][7] en faveur: in favour.^[9][7]
3. A favour, an advantage obtained from someone's preference;^[9][3] (dated) in the plural, the marks of preference a woman grants a man.^[9][3]
4. De faveur: granted as a privilege, as in billet de faveur “free ticket” or tour de faveur.^[5][7]
5. En faveur de: for the benefit of;^[3][2] à la faveur de: thanks to, under cover of.^[3][2]
6. A narrow decorative ribbon.^[3][5]

Word family

• favoriser
• défavoriser
• défaveur

Related words

• favorable
• favori
• Latin favor

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert