fair

Adjective

fair (comparative fairer, superlative fairest)

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

   Synonyms: beautiful, pretty, lovely

   Monday's child is fair of face.

   There was once a knight who wooed a fair young maid.

   • 15th c., “[The Creation]”, in Wakefield Mystery Plays; Re-edited in George England, Alfred W. Pollard, editors, The Towneley Plays (Early English Text Society Extra Series; LXXI), London: […] Oxford University Press, 1897, →OCLC, page 5, lines 120–121:

     He is so fayre, withoutten les, / he semys full well to sytt on des.

     He is so fair, without any limit; his appearance shows well when he sits on the dais.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 6:2, column 1:

     That the ſonnes of God ſaw the daughters of men, that they were faire, and they took them wiues, of all which they choſe.

   • 1912 February–July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Under the Moons of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “Champion and Chief”, in A Princess of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., 1917 October, →OCLC, page 96:

     "It was a purely scientific research party sent out by my father's father, the Jeddak of Helium, to rechart the air currents, and to take atmospheric density tests," replied the fair prisoner, in a low, well-modulated voice.

   • 2010, Stephan Grundy, Beowulf (Fiction), iUniverse, →ISBN, page 33:

     And yet he was also, though many generations separated them, distant cousin to the shining eoten-main Geard, whom the god Frea Ing had seen from afar and wedded; and to Scatha, the fair daughter of the old thurse Theasa, who had claimed a husband from among the gods as weregild for her father's slaying: often, it was said, the ugliest eotens would sire the fairest maids.

4. Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.

   Synonyms: pure, clean, neat

   one's fair name

   After scratching out and replacing various words in the manuscript, he scribed a fair copy to send to the publisher.

   • 1605, “The order for the administration of the Lords Supper, or holy Communion”, in The Booke of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments‎, London: Robert Barker:

     The Table hauing at the Communion time a faire white linnen cloth vpon it, shall stand in the body of the Church, or in the Chancell, where Morning prayer and Euening prayer be appointed to be said.

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

     […] 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 and red hair.

   Synonym: pale

   Antonym: swarthy

   She had fair hair and blue eyes.

   • 1677, Matthew Hale, The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature‎, page 200:

     the northern people large and fair-complexioned

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. In complexion fair, and with blue or gray eyes, he was tall as any Viking, as broad in the shoulder.

8. Just, equitable.

   Synonyms: honest, just, equitable

   He must be given a fair trial.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”

10. Adequate, reasonable, or decent, but not excellent.

    Synonyms: OK, okay

    Their performance has been only fair.

    The patient was in a fair condition after some treatment.

    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

      My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.

    • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC:

      The words of these songs were either without meaning, or derived from an idiom with which Watt, a very fair linguist, had no acquaintance.

12. (nautical, of a wind) Favorable to a ship's course.
    • 1885–1888, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editor, “Night 563”, in A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, now Entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night […], Shammar edition, volume (please specify the volume), [London]: […] Burton Club […], →OCLC:

      I shipped with them and becoming friends, we set forth on our venture, in health and safety; and sailed with a fair wind, till we came to a city called Madínat-al-Sín; […]

13. Favorable, pleasant.

    The weather was fair today.

    2. Not overcast; cloudless; clear.

    a fair sky

    • 1909, Frank R. Stockton, The adventures of Captain Horn, Chapter 42:

      They had good weather and tolerably fair winds, and before they entered the Straits of Magellan the captain had formulated a plan for the disposition of Garta.

    2. Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.

       a fair mark;  in fair sight;  a fair view

       • c. 1610?, Walter Raleigh, A Discourse of War:

         The caliphs obtained a mighty empire, which was in a fair way to have enlarged.

15. (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.
17. (baseball) Between the baselines.
19. (rugby, of a catch) Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.
21. (cricket, of a ball delivered by the bowler) Not a no ball.
23. (statistics) Of a coin or die, having equal chance of landing on any side, unbiased.

    A fair coin has a 50% chance of landing on heads.

Noun

fair (plural fair)

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

   When will we learn to distinguish between the fair and the foul?

2. (obsolete) A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex’; also as a collective singular, women.
   • 1744, Georg Friedrich Händel, Hercules, act 2, scene 8:

     Love and Hymen, hand in hand,
     Come, restore the nuptial band!
     And sincere delights prepare
     To crown the hero and the fair.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     Here Jones, having ordered a servant to show a room above stairs, was ascending, when the dishevelled fair, hastily following, was laid hold on by the master of the house, who cried, “Heyday, where is that beggar wench going? Stay below stairs, I desire you.”

   • 1821 August 8, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, Cantos III, IV, and V, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, canto III, stanza 24:

     If single, probably his plighted Fair
     Has in his absence wedded some rich miser  […].

3. (obsolete) Fairness, beauty.
   • c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     My decayed fair

4. A fair woman; a sweetheart.
   • 1743, William Shenstone, A Pastoral Ballad:

     I have found out a gift for my fair.

5. (obsolete) Good fortune; good luck.
   • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     Now, fair befall thee, good Petruchio!

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.
   • 1996, Computer Animation '96: June 3-4, 1996, Geneva, Switzerland, page 136:

     Since the sequence of data contain sampling noises, the captured motion is not smooth and wiggles along the moving path. There are well-known fairing algorithms in Euclidean space based on difference geometry.

5. (transitive) To construct or design with the aim of producing a smooth outline or reducing air drag or water resistance.
   • 1920, Technical Report of the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, page 206:

     Two forward cars were provided with the model. One of these (shown detached in Fig. 1) was faired at its after end, with a view to possible reduction of head resistance, and to induce a better flow of air to the propeller.

6. (transitive, obsolete) To make fair or beautiful.
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 127”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:

     Fairing the foul with art’s false borrow’d face

Adverb

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

1. Clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably.
2. (Ireland) Almost; to a great extent but not literally.
   • 1913, James Johnston Abraham, The Night Nurse:

     "I'm fair moidered to know what to do wid him," she confessed to the rosy-cheeked Bridget one day.

   • 2011 June 1, Dorothy Mitchell, Hollybeck, Chipmunkapublishing ltd, →ISBN, page 7:

     "I just want to get me blasted boots off and soak me poor feet, they're fair killing me, what with chilblains and corns, me toes are fair screaming."

   • 2011 September 5, Mary Hooper, Velvet, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 67:

     "We were at Egyptian Hall last night and the poor lady was overwhelmed with messages - they fair exhausted her."

Noun

fair (plural fairs)

2. A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.
4. An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.

6. An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.
8. A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).

Adjective

fair (comparative fairer, superlative fairst)

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

Noun

fair m (plural fairs)

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

   Synonyms: braderie, jaarmarkt

2. (rare) a funfair, carnival

   Synonyms: foor, kermis

Declension

Derived terms

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

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: fè

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Conjugation

Declension

Indeclinable.

Related terms