different between favor vs mercy
favor
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)
- A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).
- Goodwill; benevolent regard.
- 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.
- Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity.
- I could not discover the lenity and favour of this sentence.
- The object of regard; person or thing favoured.
- (obsolete) Appearance; look; countenance; face.
- (law) Partiality; bias.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Bouvier to this entry?)
- (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.
- 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 68:
- (obsolete) Anything worn publicly as a pledge of a woman's favor.
- (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)
- 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, […]
- 1611, Luke 1:28, King James version
- To encourage, conduce to
- To do a favor [noun sense 1] for; to show beneficence toward.
- To treat with care.
- (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.
- 1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug:
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)
- 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
- favour
- 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
- good will, inclination, partiality, favor
- 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
- (Orkney) our father
Occitan
Etymology
From Latin favor.
Noun
favor f (plural favors)
- 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)
- favour (instance of voluntarily assisting someone)
- 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)
- (before a verb in the infinitive) please (seen on warnings and the like)
Romanian
Noun
favor n (plural favoruri)
- 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)
- favor/favour
Derived terms
Related terms
- favorable
- favorecer
- favoritismo
- favorito
Venetian
Etymology
Compare Italian favore
Noun
favor m (plural favuri)
- favour
favor From the web:
- what favors the bold
- what favor mean
- what favors the production of peat
- what favors sn1 reactions
- what favorite color says about you
- what favorites to ask
- what favorite animal says about you
- what factors affect dissolving rates
mercy
English
Etymology
From Middle English mercy, merci, from Anglo-Norman merci (compare continental Old French merci, mercit), from Latin merc?s (“wages, fee, price”), from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Displaced native Middle English are, ore (“mercy”) (from Old English ?r (“mercy, grace”), > Scots are (“mercy, grace”)), Middle English mildse (“mercy, clemency”) (from Old English milds, milts (“mercy, kindness”)). See milse.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?m??si/
- (General American) enPR: mûr?s?, IPA(key): /?m?si/
- Rhymes: -??(?)si
- Hyphenation: mer?cy
Noun
mercy (countable and uncountable, plural mercies)
- (uncountable) Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.
- Antonyms: mercilessness, ruthlessness, cruelty
- (uncountable) Forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate.
- (uncountable) A tendency toward forgiveness, pity, or compassion.
- (countable) Instances of forbearance or forgiveness.
- (countable) A blessing; something to be thankful for.
Derived terms
- bemercy
- merciful
- merciless
Related terms
- mercy me
- at the mercy of
- have mercy
Translations
Verb
mercy (third-person singular simple present mercies, present participle mercying, simple past and past participle mercied)
- To feel mercy
- To show mercy; to pardon or treat leniently because of mercy
Interjection
mercy
- Expressing surprise or alarm.
- Mercy! Look at the state of you!
Further reading
- mercy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- mercy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Middle English
Etymology
From Old French mercier.
Verb
mercy
- Alternative form of mercien
- c. 1385, William Langland, Piers Plowman, III:
- Mildeliche Mede þanne · mercyed hem alle / Of þeire gret goodnesse.
- c. 1385, William Langland, Piers Plowman, III:
Middle French
Noun
mercy m or f (plural mercys)
- mercy (relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another)
mercy From the web:
- what mercy did for me
- what mercy did for me chords
- what mercy means
- what mercy did for me charity gayle
- what mercy did for me karaoke
- what mercy did for me bpm
- what mercy did for me sheet music
- what mercy flows lyrics
you may also like
- favor vs mercy
- precise vs affected
- pillaging vs larcenous
- peevish vs touchy
- appropriation vs present
- grasp vs steal
- crooked vs unsettled
- entreaty vs decree
- imposition vs cheat
- watch vs seek
- stricture vs squeezing
- signal vs renowned
- supineness vs sluggishness
- admittance vs concurrence
- mutinous vs riotous
- sublime vs magnanimous
- smarting vs cutting
- fraudful vs insidious
- proper vs run-of-the-mill
- expose vs narrate