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favore

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word favore

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
13th century, Girardo Patecchio
Borrowed from
Latin favor
Ultimate origin
Latin faveō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin faveo
Latin favor
Italian favore
From the same root
Latin fautor ← faveo
Latin favorabilis ← favor

Pronunciation

Forms

favore m (plural favori)[1] Old Italian also had faore and a feminine plural favora.[2] Northern texts have favor.[3]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin favor (“goodwill, support”), from faveō (“to be favourably inclined”).[4][5][6][7][8] The same Latin noun gave French faveur, Spanish favor and Portuguese favor.[5][9]

The origin of the Latin verb is uncertain.[4] Nocentini takes it as a variant of foveō (“to warm”), the warmth of the sun being what makes crops grow in a farming culture; compare caldeggiare “to support”, from “warm”.[5] De Vaan reports that the link with “warm” was rejected for phonetic reasons, and leans to Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂u̯-eh₁- (“to be favourable”), from the root of the verb “to be”.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Splanamento of Girardo Patecchio of Cremona, in the 13th century.[3] DELI's earliest is in Bono Giamboni, before 1292, in the sense “goodwill, preference, sympathy”.[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian favore was the support of the gods or of fortune, partiality in public affairs, and help in general; the phrases a favore, in favore and per favore di qualcuno meant “in support of someone”.[3] The concrete sense, a kind act done for someone, is recorded from Vespasiano da Bisticci (before 1498).[4]

Today per favore is the usual “please”, and fammi il favore! or mi faccia il favore! is an impatient or ironic retort.[6][11][12] Di favore describes something granted as a concession, such as a reduced price or a free ticket, and in the plural favori are sexual favours.[6][7] Among the derivatives, favorito in the sporting sense is an anglicism (1888), and favoriti “sideburns” is French favoris, recorded in Italian from 1839–1841.[4]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Girardo Patecchio uses favore at Cremona.[3]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “goodwill”.[4]
  • Before 1498 – Vespasiano da Bisticci uses it for a kind act, and favorire is first recorded.[4]
  • 1525 – Pietro Aretino uses favorita for a powerful man's mistress.[4]
  • 1850–1853 – Favoritismo appears in Luigi Carlo Farini.[4]
  • 1888 – Favorito is used of the favourite in a race.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A kind act, a favour done for someone: Mi puoi fare un favore?[6][7][11]
  2. Goodwill, approval: Lo spettacolo ha conquistato il favore della critica.[6][13][12]
  3. Help, advantage, protection: Sono usciti col favore del buio.[6][11][14]
  4. (in the plural) Sexual favours.[6][13][7]

Word family

  • favorire
  • favorito
  • favorita
  • favoritismo
  • favorevole
  • sfavorevole
  • favoreggiare
  • favoreggiamento
  • favoreggiatore
  • sfavore
  • disfavore

Usage notes

Per favore “please” opens or closes a polite request.[7][12] A favore di or in favore di means “in support of, for the benefit of”: one votes a favore of a proposal.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1609
  9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Favore.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/favore. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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