different between bestow vs favour

English

Etymology

From Middle English bestowen, bistowen; equivalent to be- (“on, over, about”) +? stow (“to put something away”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /b??sto?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /b??st??/
• Rhymes: -??
• Hyphenation: be?stow

Verb

bestow (third-person singular simple present bestows, present participle bestowing, simple past and past participle bestowed)

1. (transitive) To lay up in store; deposit for safe keeping; to stow or place; to put something somewhere.
   • 1611, King James Bible, Luke 12:17:

     And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits.

   • 1977, J.R.R. Tolkien, Of the Rings of Power, HarperCollins, page 358:

     Of the Three Rings that the Elves had preserved unsullied no open word was ever spoken among the Wise, and few even of the Eldar knew where they were bestowed.

2. (transitive) To lodge, or find quarters for; provide with accommodation.
3. (transitive) To dispose of.
   • 1615-17, Thomas Middleton et al., The Widow, in The Ancient British drama, edited by Robert Dodsley, Sir Walter Scott, published 1810:

     Here are blank warrants of all dispositions; give me but the name and nature of your malefactor, and I'll bestow him according to his merits.
4. (transitive) To give; confer; impart gratuitously; present something to someone or something, especially as a gift or honour.

   Medals were bestowed on the winning team.

   • 1831, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

     Soft tears again bedewed my cheeks, and I even raised my humid eyes with thankfulness towards the blessed sun which bestowed such joy upon me.

   • 2008, Illiad, Userfriendly.org, “The Large Hadron Collider Game”

     CERN bestows slush fund on the LHC. Take all pennies from the CERN space.

5. (transitive) To give in marriage.
   • 1590-92, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Act 1, Scene 1, lines 50-51:

     That is not to bestow my youngest daughter/ before I have a husband for the elder.
6. (transitive) To apply; make use of; use; employ.
   • 1887, John Marston, Arthur Henry Bullen, The Works of John Marston:

     [...] I determine to bestow Some time in learning languages abroad; [...]

7. (transitive, obsolete) To behave or deport.

Derived terms

• bestowable
• bestowage
• bestowal
• bestower
• bestowment

Translations

Anagrams

• betows, bowest

English

Pronunciation

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

Noun

favour (countable and uncountable, plural favours)

1. (British spelling) Standard spelling of favor.

Derived terms

• out of favour

Translations

Verb

favour (third-person singular simple present favours, present participle favouring, simple past and past participle favoured)

1. (British spelling) Standard spelling of favor.
   • 1611, KJV, Luke 1:28:

     "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." —

Usage notes

• Favour is the standard British and Commonwealth spelling. Favor is the standard American spelling, and an alternative in Canada.

Translations

Old French

Noun

favour f (oblique plural favours, nominative singular favour, nominative plural favours)

1. Late Anglo-Norman spelling of favor