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8 dictionary results for: favor
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
fa·vor 
[fey-ver] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[fey-ver] Pronunciation Key –noun
–verb (used with object)
—Idioms
| 1. | something done or granted out of goodwill, rather than from justice or for remuneration; a kind act: to ask a favor. |
| 2. | friendly or well-disposed regard; goodwill: to win the favor of the king. |
| 3. | the state of being approved or held in regard: to be in favor at court; styles that are now in favor. |
| 4. | excessive kindness or unfair partiality; preferential treatment: to treat some people with favor and others with neglect. |
| 5. | a gift bestowed as a token of goodwill, kind regard, love, etc., as formerly upon a knight by his lady. |
| 6. | a ribbon, badge, etc., worn in evidence of goodwill or loyalty, as by an adherent of a political party. |
| 7. | a small gift or decorative or festive item, as a noisemaker or paper hat, often distributed to guests at a party. |
| 8. | Usually, favors. sexual intimacy, esp. as permitted by a woman. |
| 9. | Archaic. a letter, esp. a commercial one. |
| 10. | to regard with favor: to favor an enterprise. |
| 11. | to prefer; treat with partiality: The father favored his younger son. |
| 12. | to show favor to; oblige: The king favored him with an audience. |
| 13. | to be favorable to; facilitate: The wind favored their journey. |
| 14. | to deal with, treat, or use gently: to favor a lame leg. |
| 15. | to aid or support: He favored his party's cause with ample funds. |
| 16. | to bear a physical resemblance to; resemble: to favor one's father's side of the family. |
| 17. | find favor with, to gain the favor of; be liked by: The play found favor with the opening-night audience. |
| 18. | in favor of,
|
| 19. | in one's favor, to one's credit or advantage: All the comments were in your favor. |
| 20. | out of favor, no longer liked or approved; no longer popular or fashionable: He's out of favor with the president and may soon be fired. |
Also, especially British, favour.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME favo(u)r < AF, OF < L favōr- (s. of favor) goodwill, equiv. to fav(ére) to be favorably inclined + -ōr- -or1]
] —Related forms
fa·vor·er, noun
—Synonyms 2. Favor, goodwill imply a kindly regard or friendly disposition shown by an individual or group. Favor may be merely an attitude of mind: to look with favor on a proposal. Goodwill is more active and leads often to outward manifestations of friendly approval: By frequent applause the audience showed its goodwill toward the speaker. 5. present. 10. approve, countenance, sanction. 12. encourage, patronize. 15. help, assist.
—Antonyms 2. animosity, malice. 10. disapprove.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| fa·vor
(fā'vər) Pronunciation Key
n.
v. fa·vored, fa·vor·ing, fa·vors v. tr.
v. intr. Chiefly Southern U.S. To resemble another in appearance: She and her father favor. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin, from favēre, to be favorable.] fa'vor·er n., fa'vor·ing·ly adv. When a Southerner favors a relative, he or she is not giving that person special privileges; rather, the Southerner looks like that relative. Favor can be either transitive—She favors her father—or intransitive with a compound subject: She and her father favor. This sense of favor goes back to early modern English: "This young lord Chamont/Favors my mother" (Ben Jonson). The verb derives from the noun favor, which was used from the 15th to the 19th century to mean "appearance, aspect; the countenance, face": "What makes thy favor like the bloodless head/Fall'n on the block?" (Tennyson). This sense of the noun is now archaic, but the verb thrives in the English of the Southern United States. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
favor (n.)
favor (n.)
c.1300, from O.Fr. favor, from L. favorem (nom. favor) "good will or support," coined by Cicero from stem of favere "to show kindness to," from PIE *dhegh-/*dhogh- "burn." Meaning "thing given as a mark of favor" is from 1588. The verb meaning "to regard with favor" is from 1340.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| favor | |
noun | |
| 1. | an act of gracious kindness |
| 2. | an advantage to the benefit of someone or something; "the outcome was in his favor" |
| 3. | an inclination to approve; "that style is in favor this season" |
| 4. | a feeling of favorable regard |
| 5. | souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party [syn: party favor] |
verb | |
| 1. | promote over another; "he favors his second daughter" [syn: prefer] |
| 2. | consider as the favorite; "The local team was favored" |
| 3. | treat gently or carefully |
| 4. | bestow a privilege upon [syn: privilege] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: fa·vor
Function: noun
1 : BIAS
2 : BENEFIT—in favor of : to the benefit of in favor of the defendant>—in one's favor : to one's benefit in his favor>
Main Entry: fa·vor
Function: noun
1 : BIAS
2 : BENEFIT—in favor of : to the benefit of in favor of the defendant>—in one's favor : to one's benefit in his favor>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Favor
Fa"vor\, n. [Written also favour.] [OF. favor, F. faveur, L. favor, fr. favere to be favorable, cf. Skr. bh[=a]vaya to further, foster, causative of bh[=u] to become, be. Cf. Be. In the phrase to curry favor, favor is prob. for favel a horse. See 2d Favel.]1. Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. Hath crawled into the favor of the king. --Shak. 2. The act of countenancing, or the condition of being countenanced, or regarded propitiously; support; promotion; befriending. But found no favor in his lady's eyes. --Dryden. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. --Luke ii. 52. 3. A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; an act of grace or good will, as distinct from justice or remuneration. Beg one favor at thy gracious hand. --Shak. 4. Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity. I could not discover the lenity and favor of this sentence. --Swift. 5. The object of regard; person or thing favored. All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, His chief delight and favor. --Milton. 6. A gift or represent; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribbons; something worn as a token of affection; as, a marriage favor is a bunch or knot of white ribbons or white flowers worn at a wedding. Wear thou this favor for me, and stick it in thy cap. --Shak. 7. Appearance; look; countenance; face. [Obs.] This boy is fair, of female favor. --Shak. 8. (Law) Partiality; bias. --Bouvier. 9. A letter or epistle; -- so called in civility or compliment; as, your favor of yesterday is received. 10. pl. Love locks. [Obs.] --Wright. Challenge to the favor or for favor (Law), the challenge of a juror on grounds not sufficient to constitute a principal challenge, but sufficient to give rise to a probable suspicion of favor or bias, such as acquaintance, business relation, etc. See Principal challenge, under Challenge. In favor of, upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of. In favor with, favored, countenanced, or encouraged by. To curry favor [see the etymology of Favor, above], to seek to gain favor by flattery, caresses, kindness, or officious civilities. With one's favor, or By one's favor, with leave; by kind permission. But, with your favor, I will treat it here. --Dryden. Syn: Kindness; countenance; patronage; support; lenity; grace; gift; present; benefit.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Favor
Fa"vor\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Favored; p. pr. & vb. n. Favoring.] [Written also favour.] [Cf. OF. favorer, favorir. See Favor, n.]1. To regard with kindness; to support; to aid, or to have the disposition to aid, or to wish success to; to be propitious to; to countenance; to treat with consideration or tenderness; to show partiality or unfair bias towards. O happy youth! and favored of the skies. --Pope. He that favoreth Joab, . . . let him go after Joab. --2 Sam. xx. 11. [The painter] has favored her squint admirably. --Swift. 2. To afford advantages for success to; to facilitate; as, a weak place favored the entrance of the enemy. 3. To resemble in features; to have the aspect or looks of; as, the child favors his father. The porter owned that the gentleman favored his master. --Spectator.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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