favel

English

Etymology 1

From Old French favele, from Latin fabella (“short fable”), diminutive of fabula. See fable.

Noun

favel

1. (obsolete) flattery; cajolery; deceit(Can we add an example for this sense?)

Etymology 2

From Old French fauvel, favel, diminutive of Old French fauve; of German origin. See fallow (adjective).

Adjective

favel (comparative more favel, superlative most favel)

1. yellow or dun in colour
   • c. 1489, William Caxton, Four Sons of Aymon:

     There came rydynge a messager vpon a horse fauell.

Noun

favel (plural favels)

1. 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 The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.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, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

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)

1. flattery; duplicity

References

• “fāvē̆l, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.