[syn: fairly, fair, evenhandedly]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fair \Fair\ (f[^a]r), a. [Compar. Fairer; superl. Fairest.]
[OE. fair, fayer, fager, AS. f[ae]ger; akin to OS. & OHG.
fagar, Icel. fagr, Sw. fager, Dan. faver, Goth. fagrs fit,
also to E. fay, G. f["u]gen, to fit. fegen to sweep, cleanse,
and prob. also to E. fang, peace, pact, Cf. Fang, Fain,
Fay to fit.]
1. Free from spots, specks, dirt, or imperfection;
unblemished; clean; pure.
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A fair white linen cloth. --Book of
Common Prayer.
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2. Pleasing to the eye; handsome; beautiful.
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Who can not see many a fair French city, for one
fair French made. --Shak.
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3. Without a dark hue; light; clear; as, a fair skin.
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The northern people large and fair-complexioned.
--Sir M. Hale.
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4. Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious;
favorable; -- said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.; as,
a fair sky; a fair day.
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You wish fair winds may waft him over. --Prior.
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5. Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed;
unincumbered; open; direct; -- said of a road, passage,
etc.; as, a fair mark; in fair sight; a fair view.
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The caliphs obtained a mighty empire, which was in a
fair way to have enlarged. --Sir W.
Raleigh.
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6. (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.
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7. Characterized by frankness, honesty, impartiality, or
candor; open; upright; free from suspicion or bias;
equitable; just; -- said of persons, character, or
conduct; as, a fair man; fair dealing; a fair statement.
"I would call it fair play." --Shak.
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8. Pleasing; favorable; inspiring hope and confidence; --
said of words, promises, etc.
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When fair words and good counsel will not prevail on
us, we must be frighted into our duty. --L'
Estrange.
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9. Distinct; legible; as, fair handwriting.
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10. Free from any marked characteristic; average; middling;
as, a fair specimen.
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The news is very fair and good, my lord. --Shak.
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Fair ball. (Baseball)
(a) A ball passing over the home base at the height
called for by the batsman, and delivered by the
pitcher while wholly within the lines of his position
and facing the batsman.
(b) A batted ball that falls inside the foul lines; --
called also a fair hit.
Fair maid. (Zool.)
(a) The European pilchard (Clupea pilchardus) when
dried.
(b) The southern scup (Stenotomus Gardeni). [Virginia]
Fair one, a handsome woman; a beauty,
Fair play, equitable or impartial treatment; a fair or
equal chance; justice.
From fair to middling, passable; tolerable. [Colloq.]
The fair sex, the female sex.
Syn: Candid; open; frank; ingenuous; clear; honest;
equitable; impartial; reasonable. See Candid.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fair \Fair\, n.
1. Fairness, beauty. [Obs.] --Shak.
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2. A fair woman; a sweetheart.
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I have found out a gift for my fair. --Shenstone.
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3. Good fortune; good luck.
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Now fair befall thee ! --Shak.
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The fair, anything beautiful; women, collectively. "For
slander's mark was ever yet the fair." --Shak.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fair \Fair\, v. t.
1. To make fair or beautiful. [Obs.]
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Fairing the foul. --Shak.
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2. (Shipbuilding) To make smooth and flowing, as a vessel's
lines.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fair \Fair\, n. [OE. feire, OF. feire, F. foire, fr. L. fariae,
pl., days of rest, holidays, festivals, akin to festus
festal. See Feast.]
1. A gathering of buyers and sellers, assembled at a
particular place with their merchandise at a stated or
regular season, or by special appointment, for trade.
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2. A festival, and sale of fancy articles. erc., usually for
some charitable object; as, a Grand Army fair; a church
fair.
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3. A competitive exhibition of wares, farm products, etc.,
not primarily for purposes of sale; as, the Mechanics'
fair; an agricultural fair.
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4. an exhibition by a number of organizations, including
governmental organizations, for the purpose of acquainting
people with such organizations or their members, not
primarily for commercial purposes; as, the 1939 World's
Fair.
[PJC]
Meet me in St. Louis, Louis
Meet me at the fair
Don't tell me the lights are shining
Anyplace but there. --Song (1904:
words by
Andrew B.
Sterling,
music by Kerry
Mills,
popularized by
Billy Murray.
Prominent in
the movie
"Meet Me In
St. Louis",
1944)
[PJC]
After the fair, Too late. [Colloq.]
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fair \Fair\, adv.
Clearly; openly; frankly; civilly; honestly; favorably;
auspiciously; agreeably.
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Fair and square, justly; honestly; equitably; impartially.
[Colloq.]
To bid fair. See under Bid.
To speak fair, to address with courtesy and frankness.
[Archaic]
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
fair
adv 1: in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or
cheating; "they played fairly" [syn: fairly, fair,
clean] [ant: below the belt, unfairly]
2: without favoring one party, in a fair evenhanded manner;
"deal fairly with one another" [syn: fairly, fair,
evenhandedly]
adj 1: free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or
deception; conforming with established standards or
rules; "a fair referee"; "fair deal"; "on a fair
footing"; "a fair fight"; "by fair means or foul" [syn:
fair, just] [ant: unfair, unjust]
2: not excessive or extreme; "a fairish income"; "reasonable
prices" [syn: fair, fairish, reasonable]
3: very pleasing to the eye; "my bonny lass"; "there's a bonny
bay beyond"; "a comely face"; "young fair maidens" [syn:
bonny, bonnie, comely, fair, sightly]
4: (of a baseball) hit between the foul lines; "he hit a fair
ball over the third base bag" [ant: foul]
5: lacking exceptional quality or ability; "a novel of average
merit"; "only a fair performance of the sonata"; "in fair
health"; "the caliber of the students has gone from mediocre
to above average"; "the performance was middling at best"
[syn: average, fair, mediocre, middling]
6: attractively feminine; "the fair sex"
7: (of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections;
"fair copy"; "a clean manuscript" [syn: clean, fair]
8: gained or earned without cheating or stealing; "an honest
wage"; "an fair penny" [syn: honest, fair]
9: free of clouds or rain; "today will be fair and warm"
10: (used of hair or skin) pale or light-colored; "a fair
complexion"; [syn: fair, fairish]
n 1: a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of
skill etc. [syn: carnival, fair, funfair]
2: gathering of producers to promote business; "world fair";
"trade fair"; "book fair"
3: a competitive exhibition of farm products; "she won a blue
ribbon for her baking at the county fair"
4: a sale of miscellany; often for charity; "the church bazaar"
[syn: bazaar, fair]
v 1: join so that the external surfaces blend smoothly
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
495 Moby Thesaurus words for "fair":
Christian, Junoesque, Mardi Gras, OK, Saturnalia, Saturnian,
acceptable, accommodating, adequate, admissible, advantageous,
affable, affably, agreeable, agreeably, alabaster, alabastrine,
albescent, all right, amiable, amiably, amicable, amicably,
amply endowed, appropriate, apt, attentive, attractive, auspicious,
auto show, average, balanced, balmy, banquet, bazaar, beauteous,
beautiful, becoming, beneficial, benevolent, benign, benignant,
better than nothing, betwixt and between, blameless, bleached,
blissful, blissfully, blond, blooming, blossoming, blowout,
boat show, bon, bonny, booming, braw, bright, bright and fair,
bueno, built, built for comfort, buxom, callipygian, callipygous,
calm, candid, capital, carnival, charming, chaste, cheerful,
cheerfully, civil, clarion, clean, cleanly, clear, clement,
cloudless, cogent, comely, commendable, commercial complex, common,
compatible, complaisant, condign, congenial, considerate, cordial,
cordially, courteous, cream, creamy, creditable, curvaceous, curvy,
dainty, decent, decipherable, defensible, deferential, delicate,
deserved, deservedly, desirable, detached, dirt-free,
disinterested, disinterestedly, dispassionate, dispassionately, do,
dry, due, dulcet, dull, duly, dun-white, eggshell, elegant,
emporium, en rapport, enchanting, enjoyable, enjoyably, equal,
equally, equitable, equitably, erect, estimable, ethical, even,
evenhanded, evenly, excellent, exhibit, exhibition, expedient,
exposition, exquisite, exuberant, fair and pleasant,
fair and square, fair to middling, fairish, fairly, famous,
fastidious, fat, favorable, favoring, feast, felicific, felicitous,
festival, festive occasion, festivity, fete, field day, fiesta,
fine, fit, flaxen-haired, flea fair, flea market, flourishing,
flowering, foreseeable, fortunate, free, fresh, fruiting,
full of integrity, full of promise, gala, gala affair, gala day,
genial, genially, glaucescent, glaucous, goddess-like,
going strong, golden, good, good enough, good-looking, goodish,
goodly, graceful, gracious, graciously, grand, grateful,
gratifying, gratifyingly, gray-white, great doings, halcyon,
handsome, happy, harmonious, healthy, heart-warming, helpful,
high jinks, high-minded, high-principled, highly respectable,
honest, honeyed, honorable, hopeful, immaculate, impartial,
impartially, impersonal, impersonally, in full swing, in good case,
in the cards, in the clear, indifferent, insipid, intermediate,
inviolate, irreproachable, ivory, ivory-white, jamboree, just,
justifiable, justifiably, justified, justifiedly, justly, kermis,
kind, kindly, kosher, lackluster, laudable, law-abiding,
law-loving, law-revering, lawful, legal, legible, legitimate,
level, liable, light, light-colored, light-hued, likable, likely,
lint-white, lovely, lovely to behold, lucky, manly, market,
market overt, marketplace, mart, mean, mediocre, medium, meet,
meet and right, meetly, mellifluous, mellow, merited, middling,
mild, moderate, modest, moral, namby-pamby, neutral, nice, noble,
nonpartisan, nonpolluted, not amiss, not bad, not half bad,
not so bad, objective, obliging, odds-on, of a kind, of a sort,
of cleanly habits, of good omen, of happy portent, of promise,
of sorts, off-white, okay, open, open market, open-minded,
ordinary, pale, palmy, party, passable, pastel, pearl, pearly,
pearly-white, personable, picnic, piping, placid, plaza, pleasant,
pleasantly, pleasing, pleasingly, pleasurable, pleasurably,
pleasure-giving, pleasureful, pneumatic, polite,
predictable within limits, presentable, presumptive, pretty,
pretty good, principled, probable, profitable, promising, proper,
properly, propitious, prospering, prosperous, pulchritudinous,
pure, rainless, rational, readable, reasonable, regal, reputable,
respectable, respectful, rewarding, rialto, right,
right and proper, right-minded, righteous, rightful, rightfully,
rightly, ritually pure, rosy, royal, ruddy, sane, satisfactory,
satisfying, satisfyingly, shapely, shiny, shopping center,
shopping mall, shopping plaza, show, sightly, skillful, sleek,
slender, smut-free, smutless, so so, so-so, solicitous, sound,
splendid, sportsmanlike, sportsmanly, spotless, square, stacked,
stainless, staple, statistically probable, statuesque, sterling,
straight, straightforward, street market, sufficient, sunny,
sunshine, sunshiny, sweet, tactful, tahar, tawny, tedious,
thoughtful, thriving, tidy, tolerable, trade fair, tranquil,
true-dealing, true-devoted, true-disposing, true-souled,
true-spirited, truehearted, trustworthy, tubbed, unadulterated,
unbesmirched, unbiased, unblemished, unblotted, unclouded, uncoded,
uncolored, uncorrupt, uncorrupted, undarkened, undazzled,
undefiled, unenciphered, unexceptionable, unimpeachable,
uninfluenced, unjaundiced, unmuddied, unobjectionable,
unobstructed, unpolluted, unprejudiced, unprepossessed, unsmirched,
unsmudged, unsoiled, unspotted, unstained, unsullied, unswayed,
untainted, untarnished, upon even terms, upright, uprighteous,
upstanding, urbane, useful, valid, vapid, verisimilar, very good,
vigorous, virtuous, warrantable, warrantably, warranted,
warrantedly, waygoose, wayzgoose, welcome, well-built,
well-favored, well-formed, well-made, well-proportioned,
well-scrubbed, well-shaped, well-stacked, well-washed, white,
whitened, whitish, whity, wishy-washy, without distinction,
workmanlike, worthy, yeomanly
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
FAIR
An early system on the IBM 705.
[Listed in CACM 2(5):1959-05-16].
(1996-05-13)
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
FAIR. A privileged market.
2. In England, fairs are granted by the king's patent.
3. In the United States, fairs are almost unknown. They are recognized
in Alabama; Aik. Dig. 409, note; and in North Carolina, where they are
regulated by statute. 1 N. C. Rev. St. 282. See Domat, Dr. Public, liv. 1,
t. 7, s. 3, n. 1.