Favoritism (noun)

1. The practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another.
2. The act of showing partiality or prejudice.

Origin:

From favor + -itism, first recorded in 1784, from favor + -ism.

Examples:

1. The manager was accused of favoritism for promoting his own family members.
2. The coach's favoritism towards the star player caused resentment among the team.
3. The teacher was criticized for showing favoritism to certain students.
4. The company's promotion policy was criticized for favoritism towards certain employees.
5. The judge was removed from the case for showing favoritism towards one of the parties involved.