fair

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

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɛə/, /fɛː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɛɚ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /feː(ə)/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /fɪə/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
• Homophone: fare

Etymology 1

From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”).

Cognate with Scots fayr, fare (“fair”), Danish feir, faver, fager (“fair, pretty”), Norwegian fager (“fair, pretty”), Swedish fager (“fair, pretty”), Icelandic fagur (“beautiful, fair”), Umbrian pacer (“gracious, merciful, kind”), Slovak pekný (“good-looking, handsome, nice”). See also peace.

Adjective

fair (comparative fairer, superlative fairest)

2. (archaic or literary) Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.

   Synonyms: beautiful, pretty, lovely

   • 1460-1500, The Towneley Playsː

     He is so fair, without lease, he seems full well to sit on this.
4. Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.

   Synonyms: pure, clean, neat

   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, London, Observation 21, “Of Moss, and several other small vegetative Substances,” p. 135,^[2]

     […] I have observ’d, that putting fair Water (whether Rain-water or Pump-water, or May-dew, or Snow-water, it was almost all one) I have often observ’d, I say, that this Water would, with a little standing, tarnish and cover all about the sides of the Glass that lay under water, with a lovely green […]

6. Light in color, pale, particularly with regard to skin tone but also referring to blond hair.

   Synonym: pale
8. Just, equitable.

   Synonyms: honest, just, equitable
10. Adequate, reasonable, or decent, but not excellent.

    Synonyms: OK, okay
12. (nautical, of a wind) Favorable to a ship's course.
14. Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious; said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.
16. Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.
18. (shipbuilding) Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
20. (baseball) Between the baselines.
22. (rugby, of a catch) Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.
24. (cricket, of a ball delivered by the bowler) Not a no ball.
26. (statistics) Of a coin or die, having equal chance of landing on any side, unbiased.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

fair (plural fair)

1. Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).

2. (obsolete) A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex’; also as a collective singular, women.
3. (obsolete) Fairness, beauty.
4. A fair woman; a sweetheart.
5. (obsolete) Good fortune; good luck.

Verb

fair (third-person singular simple present fairs, present participle fairing, simple past and past participle faired)

2. (transitive) To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).
3. (transitive) To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members).
4. (transitive, art) To make an animation smooth, removing any jerkiness.
5. (transitive) To construct or design with the aim of producing a smooth outline or reducing air drag or water resistance.
6. (transitive, obsolete) To make fair or beautiful.

Synonyms

• (to reduce air drag or water resistance): to streamline

Derived terms

• fair off
• fair up
• fairing

Translations

Adverb

fair (comparative more fair or fairer, superlative most fair or fairest)

1. clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably

Derived terms

• bid fair
• fair and square

Etymology 2

From Middle English feyre, from Old French foire, from Latin fēriae.

Noun

fair (plural fairs)

1. A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.
2. An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.
3. An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.
4. A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).

Derived terms

Translations

References

• fair at OneLook Dictionary Search
• fair in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• “fair”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• RIFA, fiar, rifa-

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛːr/
• Hyphenation: fair

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English fair, from Middle English fayr, from Old English fæġer, from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz.

Adjective

fair (comparative fairer, superlative fairst)

1. (colloquial, affected) fair (just, honest, equitable, adequate).

Inflection

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English fair, from Middle English feyre, from Old French foire, from Latin fēriae.

Noun

fair m (plural fairs)

1. A fair (social event, type of market).

   Synonyms: braderie, jaarmarkt

2. (rare) A funfair, carnival.

   Synonyms: foor, kermis

Related terms

• foor

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English fair, from Old English fæġer, from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz, whence also Middle High German vager (“splendid, wonderful”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛːr/, [fɛːɐ̯], [feːɐ̯], [fɛɐ̯]
• Hyphenation: fair

Adjective

fair (strong nominative masculine singular fairer, comparative fairer, superlative am fairsten)

1. (especially sports) fair (just, honest, equitable, adequate)

   Synonyms: anständig, ehrlich, gerecht, gleich, ausgeglichen, angemessen, sauber

   Antonym: unfair

   ein faires Spiel ― an honest game, a fairly played game

Declension

Derived terms

• Fairness (rarely Fairheit)
• Fairplay
• Fair-Use-Doktrin

Further reading

• “fair” in Duden online
• “fair” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French faire.

Verb

fair

1. (Saint-Domingue) to do

   Ly doi fair nion l'autre quichoy avant cila là. ― He should do another thing before that one.

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: fè

References

• S.J Ducoeurjoly, Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue, contenant un précis de l'histoire de cette île

Hungarian

Etymology

From English fair.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɛr], [ˈfɛːr]
• Hyphenation: fair
• Rhymes: -ɛr

Adjective

fair (comparative fairebb, superlative legfairebb)

1. fair (just, equitable)

   Synonyms: méltányos, tisztességes, becsületes, igazságos, korrekt, sportszerű

Declension

Derived terms

• fair play
• fairül

Further reading

• fair in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Irish

Etymology

See aire (“watching, attention”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [fˠaɾʲ]

Verb

fair (present analytic faireann, future analytic fairfidh, verbal noun faire, past participle fairthe)

1. to watch

Conjugation

Mutation

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• foir

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [farʲ]

Pronoun

fair

1. third-person singular masculine/neuter accusative of for

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English fair.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛr/
• Rhymes: -ɛr
• Syllabification: fair

Adjective

fair (not comparable)

1. fair (just, equitable)

   Synonym: uczciwy

Declension

Indeclinable.

Adverb

fair (not comparable)

1. fairly (in a fair manner)

   Synonym: uczciwie

Related terms

Further reading

• fair in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• fair in Polish dictionaries at PWN