Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FA'VOR, n. [L. favor; Fr. faveur; Arm. faver; Sp. favor; It. favore; from L. faveo; Ir. fabhar, favor; fabhraim, to favor.]

1. Kind regard; kindness; countenance; propitious aspect; friendly disposition. His dreadful navy, and his lovely mind, / Gave him the fear and favor of mankind. Waller. The king's favor is as dew on the grass. Prov. xix. God gave Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh. Acts vii. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain. Prov. xxxi.
2. Support; defense; vindication; or disposition to aid, befriend, support, promote or justify. To be in favor of a measure, is to have a disposition or inclination to support it or carry it into effect. To be in favor of a party, is to be disposed or inclined to support it, to justify its proceedings, and to promote its interests.
3. A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; any act of grace or good will, as distinguished from acts of justice or remuneration. To pardon the guilty is a favor; to punish them is an act of justice.
4. Lenity; mildness or mitigation of punishment. I could not discover the lenity and favor of this sentence. Swift.
5. Leave; good will; a yielding or concession to another; pardon. But, with your favor, I will treat it here. Dryden.
6. The object of kind regard; the person or thing favored. All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man / His chief delight and favor. Milton.
7. A gift or present; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribins; something worn as a token of affection. Boron. Spectator. Shak.
8. A feature; countenance. [Not used.] Shak.
9. Advantage; convenience afforded for success. The enemy approached under favor of the night.
10. Partiality; bias. A challenge to the favor, in law, is the challenge of a juror on account of some supposed partiality, by reason of favor or malice, interest or connection.