favor

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A helpful act that you do for someone.

   Could you do me a favor and water my plants while I'm away?

2. 2
   noun

   Approval or support for someone or something.

   The new policy quickly fell out of favor with the public.

3. 3
   verb

   To prefer or support one person or thing over another.

   The teacher seemed to favor the older students.

4. 4
   noun

   An advantage that benefits someone.

   The final score was in our favor.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Favour came into Middle English through Old French from Latin favor, from favere “show kindness to.” Its early sense was “liking” or “preference.” By the late 16th century it could mean something given as a sign of preference or affection; favours were worn by knights, while ribbons or cockades worn at ceremonies could also be called favours.

From Middle English favour, favor, faver, from Anglo-Norman favour, from mainland Old French favor, from Latin favor (“good will; kindness; partiality”), from faveō (“to be kind to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Respelled in American English to more closely match its Latin etymon. Compare also Danish favør (“favor”), Irish fabhar (“favor”), from the same Romance source.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary