different between back vs favor

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /bæk/, [bæk], [bak], [-k?], [-?k]
• (Scouse) IPA^(key): [bax]
• Rhymes: -æk
• Hyphenation: back

Etymology 1

From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *bak?, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *b?ogo (literally “bending”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback.

Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).

Adjective

back (not generally comparable, comparative more back, superlative most back)

1. At or near the rear.

2. Not current.

3. Situated away from the main or most frequented areas.

4. In arrears; overdue.

5. Moving or operating backward.

7. (comparable, phonetics) Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the back of the mouth, near the soft palate (most often describing a vowel).

Usage notes

In linguistic use describing the position of the tongue, the comparative backer and superlative backest are usual; these may also be occasionally found for other senses, especially informally.

Synonyms

• (near the rear): rear
• (not current): former, previous

Antonyms

• (near the rear, phonetics): front
• (not current): current
• (away from the main area): main (of roads)

Translations

See also

• back vowel

Adverb

back (comparative further back, superlative furthest back)

1. (not comparable) To or in a previous condition or place.

2. In a direction opposite to that in which someone or something is facing or normally pointing.

   Someone pushed me in the chest and I fell back.

   The grandfather clock toppled back and crashed to the ground.

   Her arm was bent back at an odd angle.

3. In a direction opposite to the usual or desired direction of movement or progress, physically or figuratively.

4. So as to reverse direction and return.

   The light bounces back off the mirror.

5. Towards, into or in the past.

6. Away from someone or something; at a distance.

   Keep back! It could explode at any moment!

7. Away from the front or from an edge.
8. So as shrink, recede or move aside, or cause to do so.

   This tree is dying back.

   Clear back all this vegetation.

   Draw back the curtains and let in some light.

9. In a manner that impedes.

10. (not comparable) In a reciprocal manner; in return.

11. (postpositive) Earlier, ago.

12. To a later point in time. See also put back.

Translations

Postposition

back

1. Before now, ago
   • Woods, John (1822) Two Years' Residence in the Settlement on the English Prairie, in the Illinois Country, United States (in English), page 138: “Our road was chiefly through woods, and part of it lay through the Hurricane-track, that is where a strong wind, some years back, opened a passage through the woods for a mile in breadth...”

Noun

back (plural backs)

1. The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.
   1. The spine and associated tissues.

   2. (slang, uncountable) Large and attractive buttocks.
   3. (figuratively) The part of a piece of clothing which covers the back.

   4. The backrest, the part of a piece of furniture which receives the human back.

   5. (obsolete) That part of the body that bears clothing. (Now used only in the phrase clothes on one's back.)
2. That which is farthest away from the front.
   1. The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.
      1. The edge of a book which is bound.

      2. (printing) The inside margin of a page.
      3. The side of a blade opposite the side used for cutting.

   2. The reverse side; the side that is not normally seen.

   3. Area behind, such as the backyard of a house.

   4. The part of something that goes last.

   5. (sports) In some team sports, a position behind most players on the team.
3. (figuratively) Upper part of a natural object which is considered to resemble an animal's back.

4. A support or resource in reserve.
5. (nautical) The keel and keelson of a ship.

6. (mining) The roof of a horizontal underground passage.
7. (slang, uncountable) Effort, usually physical.

8. A non-alcoholic drink (often water or a soft drink), to go with hard liquor or a cocktail.

9. Among leather dealers, one of the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
   • 1848, Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Maine Reports (volume 6, page 397)

     […] as delivered by a tanner the average weight of a back and two strips would be about 42 pounds […].

Synonyms

• (side opposite the visible side): reverse
• (rear of the body): dorsum

Hyponyms

• (lower rear of the body): See Thesaurus:buttocks

Antonyms

• (side opposite the front or useful side): front
• (that which is farthest away from the front): front

Coordinate terms

• (non-alcoholic drink): chaser

Derived terms

• abackward
• ass backward
• have someone's back

Related terms

• bacon

Translations

Verb

back (third-person singular simple present backs, present participle backing, simple past and past participle backed)

1. (intransitive) To go in the reverse direction.
2. (transitive) To support.
3. (nautical, of the wind) To change direction contrary to the normal pattern; that is, to shift anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, or clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
4. (nautical, of a square sail) To brace the yards so that the wind presses on the front of the sail, to slow the ship.
5. (nautical, of an anchor) To lay out a second, smaller anchor to provide additional holding power.
6. (Britain, of a hunting dog) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed.
7. (transitive) To push or force backwards.

8. (transitive, obsolete) To get upon the back of; to mount.
9. (transitive, obsolete) To place or seat upon the back.
10. To make a back for; to furnish with a back.

11. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
    • 1877, Thomas Henry Huxley, Physiography: An Introduction to the Study of Nature

      the chalk cliffs which back the beach

    • So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

12. To write upon the back of, possibly as an endorsement.

13. (law, of a justice of the peace) To sign or endorse (a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender).
14. To row backward with (oars).

Antonyms

• (nautical: of the wind): veer

Translations

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French bac.

Noun

back (plural backs)

1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
2. A ferryboat.

Translations

Czech

Alternative forms

• bek

Etymology

Borrowed from English back.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?b?k]
• Rhymes: -?k
• Homophone: beg

Noun

back m anim

1. (sports, obsolete) back

Declension

Synonyms

• obránce
• zadák

Antonyms

• úto?ník
• forward

Noun

back m inan

1. (sports, rare) defense

Declension

Synonyms

• obrana

Antonyms

• útok

Further reading

• back in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• back in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

French

Etymology

From English back

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bak/
• Homophone: bac

Adverb

back

1. (Louisiana, Cajun French, Acadian) back

   Dis trois je vous salue Marie, et je veux point te voir icitte back à voler du plywood. — “Say three hail Maries, and I don't want to see you back here stealing plywood.”

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bak/
• Rhymes: -ak

Verb

back

1. singular imperative of backen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of backen

Middle English

Noun

back

1. Alternative form of bak (“back”)

Swedish

Etymology

From English back

Pronunciation

Noun

back c

1. crate; storage of bottles
2. back; position behind most players on the team
3. reverse; car gear

Declension

English

Alternative forms

• favour (Commonwealth, Ireland)

Etymology

From Middle English favour, favor, faver, from Anglo-Norman favour, from mainland Old French favor, from Latin favor (“good will; kindness; partiality”), from fave? (“to be kind to”). Respelled in American English to more closely match its Latin etymon. Compare also Danish favør (“favor”), Irish fabhar (“favor”), from the same Romance source.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?fe?v?/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?fe?v?/
• Rhymes: -e?v?(?)
• Hyphenation: fa?vor

Noun

favor (countable and uncountable, plural favors) (American spelling, alternative in Canada)

1. A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).

2. Goodwill; benevolent regard.
3. A small gift; a party favor.

   A marriage favour is a bunch or knot of white ribbons or white flowers worn at a wedding.

   • ca. 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act IV, sc. 7:

     Here, Fluellen; wear thou this favour for me and

     stick it in thy cap: when Alencon and myself were

     down together, I plucked this glove from his helm […]

   • 1848, William Makepeace Thackery, Vanity Fair, Chapter 22:

     The rain drove into the bride and bridegroom's faces as they passed to the chariot. The postilions' favours draggled on their dripping jackets.

4. Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity.

   • I could not discover the lenity and favour of this sentence.

5. The object of regard; person or thing favoured.
6. (obsolete) Appearance; look; countenance; face.
7. (law) Partiality; bias.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bouvier to this entry?)

8. (archaic) A letter, a written communication.
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 68:

     I will now take some notice of your last favour; but being so far behind-hand with you, must be brief.

9. (obsolete) Anything worn publicly as a pledge of a woman's favor.
10. (obsolete, in the plural) Lovelocks.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wright to this entry?)

Usage notes

• Favor is the standard US spelling, and an alternative in Canada. Favour is the standard spelling in Canada and outside North America.
• English speakers usually "do someone a favor" (rather than *"make them a favor", which would be sense 3 only). See Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take for uses and meaning of favor collocated with these words.

Antonyms

• disfavor
• discriminate
• discrimination
• harm
• sabotage
• unfavor

Synonyms

• aid
• help
• lend a hand
• token

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

favor (third-person singular simple present favors, present participle favoring, simple past and past participle favored) (US, alternative in Canada, transitive)

1. To look upon fondly; to prefer.
   • 1611, Luke 1:28, King James version

     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.

   • 2007, Bert Casper, Shadow Upon the Dream: Book 1: Barrûn, page 537:

     […] alone, without having to favor his right, uninjured leg, […]

2. To encourage, conduce to
3. To do a favor [noun sense 1] for; to show beneficence toward.

4. To treat with care.

5. (in dialects, including Southern US and Louisiana) To resemble, to look like (another person).
   • 1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug:

     ‘Mandy?’ he said, and stared at the girl. ‘Don't favor her too much.’ ‘Favors her dad,’ Latha said, and looked at him.

Synonyms

• abet
• assist
• endorse
• sanction

Antonyms

• disfavor
• discriminate

Derived terms

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin favor, attested from the 14th century.

Pronunciation

Noun

favor m or f (plural favors)

1. favour

Derived terms

• a favor de
• afavorir
• en favor de
• per favor

References

Further reading

• “favor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “favor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “favor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese favor.

Noun

favor

1. favour
2. pleasure

Latin

Etymology

From fave? (“I am well disposed or inclined toward, favor, countenance, befriend”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?fa.u?or/, [?fäu??r]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?fa.vor/, [?f??v?r]

Noun

favor m (genitive fav?ris); third declension

1. good will, inclination, partiality, favor
2. support

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Descendants

References

• favor in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• favor in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• favor in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• favor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
• favor in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Norn

Alternative forms

• fa vor (rare)

Etymology

From Old Norse faðir (“father”) + vár (“our”), from Proto-Germanic *fad?r + *unseraz, from Proto-Indo-European *ph?t?r. Compare Shetlandic fy vor.

Noun

favor

1. (Orkney) our father

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin favor.

Noun

favor f (plural favors)

1. favor

Derived terms

• favorable
• favorir
• favorisar
• favorit
• favoritisme
• favorablament
• afavorir
• en favor de
• a favor de
• per favor
• faire una favor
• dar les favors

Antonyms

• desfavor

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin favor (“favour; good will”), from fave? (“I favour”), from Proto-Indo-European *g?oweh? (“to notice”).

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /f?.?vo?/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /fa.?vo?/, [f?.?vo?]
• Hyphenation: fa?vor

Noun

favor m (plural favores)

1. favour (instance of voluntarily assisting someone)
2. favour; goodwill (benevolent regard)

   Synonyms: (obsolete) favorança, graça, mercê

Derived terms

• a favor de
• em favor de
• fazer o favor de
• por favor

Related terms

Adverb

favor (not comparable)

1. (before a verb in the infinitive) please (seen on warnings and the like)

Romanian

Noun

favor n (plural favoruri)

1. Alternative form of favoare

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin favor (genitive singular fav?ris).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?bo?/, [fa???o?]
• Hyphenation: fa?vor

Noun

favor m (plural favores)

1. favor/favour

Derived terms

Related terms

• favorable
• favorecer
• favoritismo
• favorito

Venetian

Etymology

Compare Italian favore

Noun

favor m (plural favuri)

1. favour