Etymologically
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favore

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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