favel
English
Etymology 1
From Old French favele, from Latin fabella (“short fable”), diminutive of fabula. See fable.
Noun
favel
- (obsolete) flattery; cajolery; deceit(Can we add an example for this sense?)
Etymology 2
Old French fauvel, favel, diminutive of Old French fauve; of German oigin. See fallow (adjective).
Adjective
favel (comparative more favel, superlative most favel)
- yellow or dun in colour
- c. 1489, William Caxton, Four Sons of Aymon:
- There came rydynge a messager vpon a horse fauell.
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Noun
favel (plural favels)
- A horse of a favel or dun colour.
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for favel in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)
Middle English
Etymology
From Old French favel. Uses after the 14th century are based on William Langland's The vision of Piers Plowman.
Noun
favel (uncountable)
- flattery; duplicity
References
- “fāvē̆l, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.