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Favor
Definitions
- 1 A surname.
- 1 A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone). countable, uncountable
"He did me a favor when he took the time to drive me home."
- 2 an act of gracious kindness wordnet
- 3 Goodwill; benevolent regard. countable, uncountable
"She enjoyed the queen's favor."
- 4 souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party wordnet
- 5 A small gift; a party favor. countable, uncountable
"wedding favor"
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- 6 an advantage to the benefit of someone or something wordnet
- 7 Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity. countable, uncountable
"I could not discover the lenity and favour of this sentence."
- 8 an inclination to approve wordnet
- 9 The object of regard; person or thing favoured. countable, uncountable
"All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, / His chief delight and favour."
- 10 a feeling of favorable regard wordnet
- 11 Appearance; look; countenance; face. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"This boy is fair, of female favour."
- 12 Partiality; bias countable, uncountable
- 13 A letter, a written communication. archaic, countable, uncountable
"I will now take some notice of your last favour; but being so far behind-hand with you, must be brief."
- 14 A resemblance, likeness. Northern-England, archaic, countable, uncountable
- 15 Anything worn publicly as a pledge of a woman's favor. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"James probably saw the family treasures, which included a little pair of gloves embroidered with pearls and the device of a lion, a lady's favour, said to have been taken from Harry Hotspur before the battle of Otterburn in 1388."
- 16 A ribbon or similar small item that is worn as an adornment, especially in celebration of an event. countable, historical, uncountable
"The bride favors, or true love knots, ancient symbols of love, faith, and friendship, pointing out the indisssoluble tie of affection and duty, did not, as might be supposed, take their name of true love knots from the words "true" and "love,", but from the Danish verb "Trulofa," that is, "I plight my troth of faith." These knots were formerly distributed in great abundance; were worn in the hats by gentlemen, and consisted of variously colored ribbons, which were chosen by the bride and her maids, sometimes after long and serious discussions."
- 1 To look upon fondly; to prefer.
"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."
- 2 consider as the favorite wordnet
- 3 To use more often.
"[…] alone, without having to favor his right, uninjured leg, […]"
- 4 promote over another wordnet
- 5 To encourage, conduce to
"These [boys being groomed as prostitutes] are sold by their parents (sometimes stolen from them), about the age of 4, and educated, while they are also subjected to a special physical training, which includes massage of the gluteal regions to favor development, dilatation of the anus, and epilation (which is not, however, practised by Chinese women)."
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- 6 bestow a privilege upon wordnet
- 7 To do a favor [noun sense 1] for; to show beneficence toward.
"Would you favor us with a poetry reading?"
- 8 treat gently or carefully wordnet
- 9 To resemble; especially, to look like (another person).
"I thought—it doesn't matter—you seemed to favour your ma,"
- 10 To treat or use (something) gently
"I always try to favor my bad knee."
Etymology
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.
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.
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