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Favor vs Reciprocal - What's the difference?

favor | reciprocal |

As nouns the difference between favor and reciprocal

is that favor is a kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone) while reciprocal is (arithmetic) of a number, the number obtained by dividing 1 by the given number; the result of exchanging the numerator and the denominator of a fraction.

As a verb favor

is (transitive)  to look upon fondly; to prefer.

As an adjective reciprocal is

of a feeling, action or such: mutual, uniformly felt or done by each party towards the other or others; two-way.

favor

English

Alternative forms

* favour (qualifier)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).
  • Goodwill; benevolent regard.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady.
  • A small gift; a party favor.
    • A marriage favour is a bunch or knot of white ribbons or white flowers worn at a wedding.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Wear thou this favour for me, and stick it in thy cap.
  • Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity.
  • * Jonathan Swift
    • I could not discover the lenity and favour of this sentence.
  • The object of regard; person or thing favoured.
  • * Milton
    • All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, / His chief delight and favour .
  • (obsolete) Appearance; look; countenance; face.
  • * Shakespeare
    • This boy is fair, of female favour .
  • (legal) Partiality; bias.
    • (Bouvier)
  • (archaic, polite) A letter.
    • Your favour of yesterday is received.
  • (obsolete, in the plural) lovelocks
    • (Wright)

    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 for uses and meaning of ' favour collocated with these words.

    Derived terms

    * in favor * in favor of * party favor * favorite

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (transitive)  To look upon fondly; to prefer.
  • * 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. —, King James version, ' 1611
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=6 citation , passage=Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white.}}
  • (transitive)  To do a favor [noun sense 1] for; to show beneficence toward.
  • (transitive)  To treat with care.
  • (transitive)  To have a similar appearance, to look like another person.

    • Derived terms

    * favorite (favourite) * favoritism (favouritism) * favorable (favourable) * favored (favoured) ----

    reciprocal

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of a feeling, action or such: mutual, uniformly felt or done by each party towards the other or others; two-way.
    • reciprocal''' love; '''reciprocal duties
  • * Shakespeare
    • Let our reciprocal vows be remembered.
  • Mutually interchangeable.
  • * I. Watts
    • These two rules will render a definition reciprocal with the thing defined.
  • (grammar) Reflexive; applied to pronouns and verbs, but sometimes limited to pronouns that express mutual action.
  • (math) Used to denote different kinds of mutual relation; often with reference to the substitution of reciprocals for given quantities.
  • contrary or opposite

    • Synonyms

    * mutual, two-way * contrary, opposite, converse, inverse, inverted, cross * See also

    Related terms

    * reciprocity

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (arithmetic) Of a number, the number obtained by dividing 1 by the given number; the result of exchanging the numerator and the denominator of a fraction.
    • 0.5 is the reciprocal of 2.

    Synonyms

    * (in arithmetic) multiplicative inverse