British or archaic spelling of befavor; to show favor or preference toward someone.
From 'be-' + 'favour' (British spelling of 'favor'), with the '-u-' retained from the Latin root 'favorem.' This spelling variant reflects British English conventions.
The 'u' in 'favour' versus the American 'favor' is a spelling preference that dates back to how different nations standardized their dictionaries in the 1800s, and learning these variants shows how English has split into slightly different written standards across countries.
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