# favour

Pronunciation: UK say "FAY-vuh" /ˈfeɪ.və/; US say "FAY-vur" /ˈfeɪ.vɚ/

## Noun

1. A helpful act done willingly for someone as a kindness.
   - Simple: Something kind that you do to help someone.
   - _Can I ask a favour? I need a lift to the station on Friday._
   - _He called in a few favours to get the band a slot at the festival._
3. The backing or approval that a proposal, an idea or one side in a contest or dispute receives.
   - Simple: Liking and support for a plan, an idea or one side.
   - _Most of the councillors spoke in favour of the new cycle lanes._
   - _The four-day working week is steadily gaining favour among British employers._
4. Advantage or benefit to someone, as when a score, a rule or the weather is on their side.
   - Simple: Help or advantage for a person, which gives them a better chance.
   - _The strong pound worked in our favour, so the whole holiday cost far less than we expected._
   - _With the wind in their favour, the crew reached the harbour well before dark._
5. Kindly approval or goodwill shown towards someone.
   - Simple: Kind feelings or approval that someone shows towards another person.
   - _The courtier spent years trying to win the king's favour._
   - _Her warm, direct manner at once disposed the whole committee in her favour._
7. A small gift handed out to guests, for example at a party or a wedding.
   - Simple: A small present given to each guest at a party or wedding.
   - _The couple gave sugared almonds as favours to their wedding guests._
   - _Each place at the long table had a small favour tied with ribbon._
12. Partiality towards one party in a legal matter, so that it is not judged fairly.
   - Simple: Unfair support for one side in a legal case.
   - _The appeal court found no sign of favour in the way the magistrate ran the trial._
   - _Officials of the court must act without fear or favour towards either side._
13. A ribbon, rosette or other small token worn as a badge, for example to celebrate an occasion or show support, or in the past by a knight as a sign of a lady's affection.
   - Simple: A ribbon or small token worn to celebrate something or show support, or long ago to show a lady's love.
   - _The coachmen wore white favours on their jackets for the duke's wedding._
   - _When news of the victory came, every girl in the village wore a red, white and blue favour._

## Verb

2. To look on someone with special fondness, or to prefer one thing over others.
   - Simple: To like one person or thing more than others.
   - _Many cyclists favour lighter frames for long rides in the hills._
   - _He wore the sort of waxed jacket favoured by farmers and dog walkers._
6. To encourage something or help to bring it about.
   - Simple: To help something happen or grow.
   - _Calm, cloudy nights favour the formation of fog in the valleys._
   - _The new rules favoured a faster, more open style of play._
8. To do someone the kindness of giving or granting them something, such as an answer, a visit or a song, as an act of generosity rather than a feeling of preference.
   - Simple: To do something kind for someone, often by giving them something.
   - _Perhaps the minister will favour the committee with a straight answer this time._
   - _She favoured the class with a short talk about her years in Kenya._
11. To use one thing more often or more heavily than another, such as a sound leg in place of an injured one.
   - Simple: To use one thing, such as one leg or hand, more than another.
   - _Runners who favour one leg after an injury can end up with back pain._
   - _After twisting her right ankle, she favoured her left leg all the way home._
15. To be similar to someone or something, and in particular to look like another person. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: To look like another person, or to be like something.
   - _Those two cousins favour each other so much that strangers take them for sisters._
   - _She favours her mam round the eyes, but she's got her dad's chin._
9. To handle an injured or aching part of the body with care, keeping strain off it.
   - Simple: To be careful with a hurt or painful part of your body so that you do not hurt it more.
   - _By half-time the striker was clearly favouring the ankle he had twisted in the warm-up._
   - _Physios warn that runners who favour a sore hip often end up with pain somewhere else._

## Noun

10. The person or thing that is looked on with special regard and preferred above others. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The person or thing that someone loves or likes best.
14. A courteous term for a letter or other written message received from someone. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A polite old word for a letter that someone has sent you.
   - _Your favour of last Tuesday arrived just as I was leaving for London._
   - _I must apologise for leaving your two last favours so long unanswered._
16. A likeness between one person or thing and another. *(archaic, Northern England)*
   - Simple: The way one person or thing looks like another.
17. A person's face, expression or general appearance. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The face of a person, or the way they look.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Leniency towards an offender, shown by softening or reducing a punishment.

## Origin

Middle English had both favour and favor, borrowed through Anglo-Norman favour and Old French favor from Latin favor ("good will; kindness; partiality"), derived from faveō ("to be kind to"), whose earlier origin is uncertain. The older spelling favor later became standard in American English, helped by Noah Webster's preference for -or spellings. The same Romance source gave Danish favør and Irish fabhar.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/favour (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).