Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “favourite” come from?

Favourite comes from Middle French favorit, derived from Middle French favorir, from Latin favor, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂- meaning to speak or say.

favourite (English): Preferred or liked above all others; Belonging to...

Definitions

  1. Preferred or liked above all others; Belonging to...

Ancestry of “favourite”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchfavoritfavored one
2Old Frenchfavorit—
3Italianfavoritofavourite; mollycoddle; teacher's pet
4Italianfavorireto favour, to favor, to help, to aid, to support;...
5Italianfavorefavour
6Latinfavorgood will, inclination, partiality, favor;...
7Latin-orused to form a third-declension masculine...
8Proto-Italic-ōsCreates masculine action nouns or result nouns...
9Proto-Indo-European-ōsCreates masculine and feminine action nouns or...
10Proto-Indo-European-oss—
11Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

Words derived from “favourite”

  • favouritism
  • fave
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →