what is the history behind the phase 'please, can you do me a favour'?

Question

We often use this term to ask someone to do something for us but where does it come from, where did it originate from?

for example, the phase 'between the devil and the deep blue sea' was a marritime (navy, sailor) term. devil was the plank on the ship and the sea.

Answer 1

The word "favour" originates from the Latin "favere" and has the same root as "favourite". It came into English via the French from the French "faveur", and the French have the identical expression "Fais-moi une faveur" : "Do me a favour !" and in Italian "Per favore" means "If you please, do me a favour".
The general idea is that you are pleasing somebody by doing something for them. At one time a "favour" was a small present; something to please someone else which was made specially for them. The meaning got extended to "carrying out a relatively easy task for someone else" "rendering a small service".
Because it is perceived as being a small service, people now say "Can you do me a BIG favour?" when asking for something important.

Answer 2

I don't know its origin, but it's not limited to English. A way of saying 'please' more formally in Spanish is 'Hágame el favor de...' - 'Do me the favour of...' literally.