bias

English Online Dictionary. What means bias‎? What does bias mean?

English

Etymology

c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570).

From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century. The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbaɪəs/
• Rhymes: -aɪəs

Noun

bias (countable and uncountable, plural biases or biasses)

1. (countable, uncountable) Inclination towards something.

   Synonyms: predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection
2. (countable, textiles) The diagonal line between warp and weft in a woven fabric.
3. (countable, textiles) A wedge-shaped piece of cloth taken out of a garment (such as the waist of a dress) to diminish its circumference.
4. (electronics) A voltage or current applied to an electronic device, such as a transistor electrode, to move its operating point to a desired part of its transfer function.
5. (statistics) The difference between the expectation of the sample estimator and the true population value, which reduces the representativeness of the estimator by systematically distorting it.
6. (sports) In the games of crown green bowls and lawn bowls: a weight added to one side of a bowl so that as it rolls, it will follow a curved rather than a straight path; the oblique line followed by such a bowl; the lopsided shape or structure of such a bowl. In lawn bowls, the curved course is caused only by the shape of the bowl. The use of weights is prohibited.[from 1560s]
7. (South Korean idol fandom) A person's favourite member of a K-pop band.

   Hypernym: fave

   Coordinate term: ult

   • 2015, "Top 10 Tips For Travelling To Korea", UKP Magazine, Winter 2015, page 37:

     The last thing you want is for your camera to die when you finally get that selca with your bias.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:bias.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

bias (third-person singular simple present biases or biasses, present participle biasing or biassing, simple past and past participle biased or biassed)

1. (transitive) To place bias upon; to influence.
2. (electronics) To give a bias to.
   • 2002, H. Dijkstra, J. Libby, Overview of silicon detectors, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 494, 86–93, p. 87.

     On the ohmic side n⁺ is implanted to provide the ohmic contact to bias the detector.

Translations

Adjective

bias (comparative more bias, superlative most bias)

1. Inclined to one side; swelled on one side.

   Synonym: biased
2. Cut slanting or diagonally, as cloth.

Translations

Adverb

bias (not comparable)

1. In a slanting manner; crosswise; obliquely; diagonally.

   to cut cloth bias

Translations

Further reading

• bias on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• ABIs, AIBs, IABs, IBSA, bais, basi-, isba

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay bias from English bias, from French biais.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbi.as]
• Rhymes: -kaŋ, -as, -s
• Hyphenation: bi‧as

Noun

bias

1. bias,
   1. inclination towards something; predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection.
   2. (statistics) the difference between the expectation of the sample estimator and the true population value, which reduces the representativeness of the estimator by systematically distorting it.
   3. (acoustics, optics) the turning or bending of any wave, such as a light or sound wave, when it passes from one medium into another of different optical density.
   4. (colloquial) a person's favourite member of an idol group, such as K-pop band.

Derived terms

Further reading

• “bias” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Etymology

Related to tempias. Sense of inclination from phono-semantic matching of English bias from French biais.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbi.as]
• Rhymes: -as, -s
• Hyphenation: bi‧as

Verb

bias (Jawi spelling بياس)

1. to be drifted by the wind
2. to divert, to deflect, to go off course
3. (physics) to refract

Noun

bias (plural bias-bias, informal 1st possessive biasku, 2nd possessive biasmu, 3rd possessive biasnya)

1. the act of diversion or deflection

   Synonyms: biasan, pesongan

2. bias
   1. inclination towards something; predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection.

      Synonyms: kecenderungan, pincang

   2. (statistics) the difference between the expectation of the sample estimator and the true population value, which reduces the representativeness of the estimator by systematically distorting it.

      Synonym: pincang

Derived terms

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “بيس bijas”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 69
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “بيس biyas”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 142
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “bias”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 134

Further reading

• “bias” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Old Irish

Verb

bias

1. third-person singular future relative of at·tá
2. third-person singular future relative of benaid

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