| 释义 |
▪ I. fair, n.1|fɛə(r)|
Forms: 4–5 feire, feyre, 4–7 faire, fayre, 5–6 fayer (6 faier), 5–7 fare, 7– fair.
[a. OF. feire (mod.F. foire) = Pr. feira, fiera, fieyra, Sp. fería, Pg. feira, It. fiera:—Lat. fēria holiday.]
1. a. A periodical gathering of buyers and sellers often with shows and entertainments, in a place and at a time ordained by charter or statute or by ancient custom. Freq. modified by prefixing other words, indicating the things sold, the time of year, or some special object for which the fair is held; as cattle-fair, cheese-fair, horse-fair, ram-fair, sheep-, etc., fair; Easter-fair, Michaelmas-fair, summer-fair. More recently also spec. (a) an exhibition, esp. one designed to publicize a particular product or the products of one industry, country, etc.; freq. with defining word pre-fixed; (b) = fun fair.
[1292Britton i. xiv. §3 Qe il facent crier la pes de eux en citez..et en feyres et en marchez.] c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 328 In feire and markette þei salle seke him oute. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. vii. 211 Ich wente to þe faire With many [maner] marchandises. 1489Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. (1877) I. 119 A blak horss boycht..in the fayre. 1548Hall Chron. 122 b, The faier, on the day of Sainct Michaell the Archangell, kepte in..the toune of Caen. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. 12 To neglect a great faire, and to seeke to make markets aftewards. 1686Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 181 Y⊇ freemen..of New Castle..Requesting a Fare to be kept in yt Towne twice a year. 1763[see roundabout n. 4 b]. 1764Foote Mayor of G. ii. i, Has he not..made himself the fool of the fair. 1805National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.) 24 Apr. 3/2 Washington Fairs. It will be perceived..that..the premiums offered, may be an inducement to graziers and farmers to bring their cattle and other effects to the city. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 272 Where the King grants a fair or market, the grantee shall have..a court of record. 1841Elphinstone Hist. Ind. I. 327 Each has its market day, and its annual fairs and festivals. 1844Farmers' Cabinet 15 Oct. 73/1 New York State Fair and Cattle Show at Poughkeepsie. 1850New Eng. Farmer II. 413 The State Board of Agriculture are making up a collection of samples of Indian Corn for the World's Fair [i.e. the International Exhibition of 1851 in London.] 1856Spirit of Times 11 Oct. 95/1 The Ladies' Riding Match at the Monroe County Fair. 1857Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 315 A mere cattle-fair; no booths with toys and sweeties. 1863[see book-fair s.v. book n. 18 a]. 1864P. Paterson Glimpses Real Life xvii. 164 The penny-showman fights his battle of life, industriously wandering from one fair to another... At these places are usually congregated a multifarious crowd of exhibitions, swings, merry-go-rounds, Punch-and-Judys, and living skeletons. 1870E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. II. 145 The summer fair had long gone by. 1903Daily Chron. 7 Dec. 5/1 In America the word ‘fair’ has been preserved to describe meetings at which prizes are awarded for farm live stock. 1950Oxf. Jun. Encycl. IX. 209/1 All the paraphernalia of a modern fair is carried in vans and on trailers from fairground to fairground. 1952Sat. Rev. 25 Oct. 67/1 This year's Audio Fair will show a tremendous improvement in [loud-] speakers designed in the conventional way. 1968D. Braithwaite Fairground Archit. i. 13 The atmosphere of today's pleasure fair is far removed from the vigorous barter of primitive trading fairs. 1969‘A. Cade’ Turn up Stone i. 10 Michael's previous forays overseas had been limited to..an annual pilgrimage to the Frankfurt Book Fair.
b. phr. a day after the fair: too late.
1548Hall Chron. 218 b, A daie after the faire, as the common proverbe saieth. 1676G. Etherege Man of Mode iii. i, You came a day after the fair. 1882P. Fitzgerald Recreat. Lit. Mag. (1883) 55 It..would be the day after the fair.
c. transf. Applied to a ‘bazaar’ or collection of goods to be sold to raise money for a charitable purpose. Chiefly in fancy-fair (see fancy a. 1 d), church-fair (U.S.).
1876W. A. Butler Mrs. Limber's Raffle i. 18 A church fair, or any fair, in fact, always seems to me like a contrivance to get a great deal of money for very little value.
d. fun of the fair: colloq. phr., in extended use.
1852Dickens Bleak Ho. xxiv. 250 You're half the fun of the fair, in the Court of Chancery. 1899R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. xi. 104 The balance, 11s. 6½d., must serve for everything—washing, food, odds and ends, household and personal. ‘The fun of the fair.’ 1940‘N. Blake’ Malice in Wonderland i. ii. 25, {pstlg}3 10.0. inclusive of everything—all the fun of the fair, as you might say. 1954L. MacNeice Autumn Sequel x. 69 The last Fun of the fair will snap with a snap of elastic.
2. attrib. and Comb., as fair-booth, fair-day, fair-goer, fair-ground, fair-place, fair-stead, fair-time, fair-town; fair-like adj.; fair-wards adv.; fair-going a., going to a fair; fair-keeper, (a) one who has a stall, etc., at a fair; (b) an officer charged with the maintenance of order at a fair.
1862H. Marryat Year in Sweden II. 385 On the village-green stand moss-grown *fair-booths.
1568Grafton Chron. II. 431 He..tooke the towne of Peples on their *fayre day. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. 122 The Prince of Princes..went through this Town..upon a Fair-day. 1771Wesley Jrnl. 18 June, It being the fair-day. 1929A. Clarke Later Poems (1961) 19 When tide had filled the boat-rings, Few dealers could be tempted Who drank upon the fair-day.
1836Dickens Sk. Boz. I. 321 The regular *fair-goers. 1966Times 28 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) p. x/3 A determined fair-goer could travel through Ontario, Quebec..and find a fair every day.
1801Bloomfield Rural T. (1802) 6 Many a kind *Fair-going face. 1851Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Windows 123 The world..has grown A Fair⁓going world.
1741Lady Pomfret Let. 21 June (1805) III. 247 The *fair-ground; which is a square enclosure, with..shops of all sorts on each hand. 1881Echo 9 July 3/1 The Munster pig buyers have peremptorily refused to buy on the fair-ground of Sir Henry Becher. 1953Encounter Oct. 40/1 A blue-green, rococo building..that reminds me of a fair-ground pavilion, and is a temple.
1708Lond. Gaz. No. 4398/3 The *Fair⁓keepers resorting to the Two Fairs held in..Bristol. 1864A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock 106 The guard, or ‘fair⁓keepers’..were supplied with ale, etc., at the expense of the town.
1577–87Holinshed Chron. II. 21/2 The..*fairlike markets..kept in Dublin. 1898Daily News 28 Mar. 4/3 The shooting galleries, cocoanut ‘shies’ and other fair⁓like attractions.
1795Sporting Mag. V. 39 A battle was fought in the *fair-place.
1657Reeve God's Plea 166 Merchandize..is the Nations Head-servant..sent out to all the earth, as to a generall Market, and *fairstead to buy her provisions.
1467in Eng. Gilds (1870) 384 In the *feyre tyme ij d.
1602Carew Cornwall 122 a, Camelford, a market and *Fayre (but not faire) towne.
1926W. J. Locke Stories Near & Far 298 The gradual traffic going *fair-wards passed him by.
▪ II. fair, a. and n.2|fɛə(r)|
Forms: α. 1 fæȝer, (fæȝir), 2 Orm. faȝȝerr, (3 fæier, -iȝer, -ir, faȝer, faiȝer, feiȝer), 2–6 feir, -yr, feier, -yer, 5–7 faire, -yr(e, 5 feire, -yre, 3–6 faier, -yer, (5 fayir), 4–7 far(e, 2– fair. β. 2–3 veir, (3 væȝer, veȝer, veieȝer), 3–4 vair, -yr.
[Com. Teutonic: OE. fæᵹer = OS. fagar, OHG. fagar, ON. fagr (Sw., Da. fager), Goth. fagrs:—OTeut. *fagro-z.]
A. adj. (In all the older senses formerly used antithetically with foul. This is now obs. or arch. exc. with the ns. weather, means.)
I. Beautiful.
1. Beautiful to the eye; of pleasing form or appearance; good-looking. Phrases, fair to see (arch.); fair and free (obs. or arch.).
No longer in colloquial use; in literature very common, but slightly arch. or rhetorical.
a. of persons; chiefly with reference to the face; in mod. use, almost exclusively of women. Also of the body or its parts.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxii. §2 Swa fæᵹer swa swa Alcibiades..wæs. a1000Cædmon's Gen. 457 Oþ-ðæt he Adam ᵹearone funde..and his wif somed, freo fæᵹroste. c1200Ormin 6392 Þatt an wass swiþe faȝȝerr wif. c1205Lay. 3886 He wes wis he wes fæir. Ibid. 25305 Þa ueieȝereste wifmen. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2659 So faiȝer he was on to sen. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 66 Fairor womman nas þo non. Ibid. 556 Vairore fole ne miȝt be, þan wiþ him was þere. a1300Cursor M. 4223 (Cott.) Ioseph..was fre and feir. c1320Sir Beues 538 Ne non, so faire limes hade! c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 613 Cleopatras, Sche was fayr as is the Rose in May. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P. R. v. xviii. (1495) 123 Yf the chynne be proporcyonate to the foreheed, it makyth it fare. a1400–50Alexander 601 Þe fax on his faire hede was ferly to schawe. c1435Torr. Portugal 782 My dowghttyr gente That ys so feyer and fre. 1548Hall Chron. 166 b, In this trobleous season..was y⊇ quene delivered at Westmynster of a fayre sonne. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 40 A Gentle⁓woman..faire of bodie. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. i. 47 That Faire and Warlike forme. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 324 The fairest of her Daughters Eve. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 760 His Head, from his fair Shoulders torn. 1810Scott Lady of L. ii. xxv, Of stature fair. 1832Tennyson Sisters, The earl was fair to see. 1864― Aylmer's F. 681 Fair as the Angel that said ‘Hail!’
fig.1871R. B. Vaughan Life T. Aquinas II. 639 The noblest and fairest spirits of beautiful, wicked Athens.
b. Applied to women, as expressing the quality characteristic of their sex. So, the fair sex (= Fr. le beau sexe), a fair one. Also in comparative.
c1440York Myst. xlvi. 259 If we bynde ouȝte þat faire one in fere nowe. 1599Minsheu Dial. Sp. & Eng. (1623) 5 What from our faire neighbour? Yea Sir. Well..they are from a cleanly woman. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. II. 92, I..can by no meanes approve the ambition of your fayre neighbour. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. v. ix. (1675) 329 Persons of the fairer sex. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iii. x. §34 Eloquence, like the fair sex, has too prevailing beauties in it to suffer itself ever to be spoken against. 1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 331 The confessing lover..ascribes all to the bounty of the fair-one. 1726Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 48 A Note..which my fair Correspondent had taken Opportunity of leaving. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §24 The fair sex have now nothing to do but dress and paint. 1798Ferriar Illustr. Sterne v. 155 My fair readers must excuse me. 1800Med. Jrnl. III. 442 These melancholy cases..spread a general alarm over a considerable district among the fair sex. 1825A. Cunningham ‘Wet Sheet & Flowing Sea’ 10 O for a soft and gentle wind! I heard a fair one cry. 1878J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xxix. 451 The fairer section of our party are startled at the crowds of men in the streets.
absol. with plural sense.
1700Dryden Fables, Cock & Fox 624 What will not Beaux attempt to please the Fair? 1777W. Dalrymple Trav. Sp. & Port. xviii, At church..the fair carry the appearance of saints.
c. of abstractions personified.
1742Pope Dunc. iv. 24 There, stript, fair Rhet'ric languish'd on the ground. 1750Gray Elegy, Epitaph i, Fair science frown'd not on his humble birth. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 365 Fair Freedom, taught..to feel The rabble's rage.
d. used in courteous or respectful address. Obs. exc. arch.
c1350Will. Palerne 4596 Faire fader, bi mi feiþ folili ȝe wrouȝten. c1450Merlin 9 Ffeire suster ye ought not to come in this place. Ibid. 15 Feyre sone, for youre sake shall I suffir the deth. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 92/3 Ha faire sires he was but late byheded. 1530Palsgr. 218/2 Fayresyr, beau sire. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 205 Ye be welcome fayre sister, with my fayre Nephew your sonne. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 310 Faire sir, God saue you. 1820Scott Abbot xi, ‘So much for your lineage, fair sir,’ replied his companion. 1889‘Mark Twain’ Connecticut Yankee 230 Even so, fair my lord.
†e. of animals. Hence in Hunting use applied distinctively to a roebuck of the fifth year. Obs.
c1220Bestiary 734 Panter is an wilde der, Is non fairere on werlde her. 1382Wyclif Jer. xlvi. 20 The she calf fair and shapli Egipt. 1486Bk. St. Alban's A vj b, This is a fayr hawke. 1535Coverdale Judges v. 10 Ye that ride upon fayre Asses. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 401 A sea Gull among a sort of faire swannes. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 1 In it [the flea] are two fair eyes. 1728Pope Dunc. ii. 41 A partridge plump, full-fed and fair. 1820Scott Abbot i, The fairest herd in the Halidome.
f. of inanimate things.
Beowulf 773 On hrusan ne feol fæᵹer foldbold. c1175Lamb. Hom. 25 He..bið al swa is an eppel iheoweð, he bið wið-uten feire and frakel wið-innen. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 185 A faier bode inne to wunien. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 48/42 A fayr wode in deorsete. a1300Cursor M. 22511 (Cott.) Þe sun..es þe fairest on to loke at middai-time. c1340Ibid. 2468 (Trin.) A..fair cuntre Þe flom ran þourȝe feire to se. a1400–50Alexander 1541 On hys heued a hoge fair myter. 1495Act 11 Hen VII, c. 16 Preamb., Divers tenementes and feier places bilded ther. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 46 He brynge forth euery yere fayre floures. 1548Hall Chron. 87 The fayre toune of Compaigne. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. i. 46 Carrie him..to my fairest Chamber. 1658Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 324 He hath already a fayre and large pew in the church. 1710Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) III. 88 He presented his Majesty with a fair guilt Cup. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1858) 422 The same wicker work, but much fairer. 1799Wordsw. ‘She dwelt’ Wks. (1888) 115/1 A violet..Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky. 1808Scott Marm. i. i, Tweed's fair river, broad, and deep. 1819Shelley Cenci v. iv. 104 Awakening earthquake, o'er whose couch Even now a city stands, strong, fair and free. 1842Barham Ingol. Leg., Ingol. Penance, The Ingoldsby lands are broad and fair. 1849Ruskin Sev. Lamps vi. §20. 182 A fair building is..worth the ground it stands on.
g. of appearance, visible qualities, arrangement, etc.
c1175Cott. Hom. 219 Hi alle wurðon awende of þan feȝre hiwe. c1340Cursor M. 4225 (Trin.) Þi godenes & þi feire hew. c1400Rom. Rose 3613 As faire semblaunt thanne shewed he me..As aforn didde he. 1535Coverdale Judith xvi. 7 Iudith..with hir fayre bewtye hath discomfited him. 1563Shute Archit. D iij b, Ye may finde a faire diminishing as I have said before. 1867M. E. Braddon R. Godwin I. i. 1 The Captain and his wife were both in the fairest prime of middle age.
h. In various plant names, as fair days, grass, the Goose-grass (Potentilla anserina); fair in sight, the Blue-bell. See also fair maid.
1578Lyte Dodoens ii. xxiii. 175 These floures [Blue bells] be now called Fayre in sight. 1884Miller Plant-n. 42/2 Fair Grass, or Fair Days, Potentilla anserina.
†2. Of sounds, odours, etc.: Agreeable, delightful. Obs.
a1000Cædmon's Exod. 566 (Gr.) Seᵹnas stodon on fæᵹerne sweg. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 46 A fayr reflayr ȝet fro hit flot.
†3.
a. Desirable, reputable. Obs.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 144 Ffeyre hit is to haue a son. c1386Chaucer Prol. 212 (Harl. MS.) He hadde i-made many a faire mariage. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxii. 28–9 To be cald a knyght is fair..To be cald a kyng is fairour. 1650Fuller Pisgah iv. vii. 134 His two sons who slew him, got exile..too fair a reward for so foul a Patricide. 1676G. Etherege Man of Mode ii. ii, E'ne let him go, a fair riddance.
b. Of an amount, an estate, fortune, etc.: Considerable, ‘handsome’, liberal.
a1240Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 199 Þu schalt me a ueir dol of heoueriche blisse. 1642R. Carpenter Experience iv. xii. 172 The imagination..performeth a faire deale more in the Table, than the painter. 1654Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) II. 88 A faire fortune is come to our countryman Sir Chi. Wrey. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 112 Scotland, since her sovereigns had succeeded to a fairer inheritance, had been independent only in name. 1859Jephson Brittany xviii. 289 Giles, to whom a fair heritage was no less agreeable than a fair wife.
†4. Of language, diction: Elegant. Hence fair speaker. Obs.
c1380Antecrist in Todd 3 Treat. Wyclif 141 If hise [antichrist's] clerkis cunne speke fayre latyne. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xv. lxviii. (1495) 514 Men of Grecia were fayr and moost grete spekers. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ix. Prol. 10 To tret a matere in fare Dyte. c1440Promp. Parv. 146 Fayre spekar, orator. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 145 It was..translated into right good and fayr englissh.
5. a. Of external manifestations, words, promises: Attractive or pleasing at the first sight or hearing; specious, plausible, flattering.
a1000Cædmon's Gen. 899 (Gr.) Me nædre beswac..Þurh fæᵹir word. a1200Vices & Virtues (1888) 11 Ic habbe beswiken min emcristen mid faire wordes. a1300Cursor M. 24824 (Cott.) Wit hightes fair he wan þair will. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 23 Fauuel with feir speche haþ brouȝt hem to-gedere. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 173 He mote be war þat faire biheste ne veyn glorie ne coveitise ne bigile him not. 1473J. Warkworth Chron. 7 By fayre speche..the Kynge scaped oute of the Bisshoppys handes. 1538Starkey England ii. ii. 191 By hys dyssymulatyon and Fare wordys [he] was interteynyd in a long sute. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 17 A fayre speaker, and a deepe dissembler. 1611Bible Gal. vi. 12 Many..desire to make a faire shew in the flesh. 1653H. More Antid. Ath. iii. ix. (1712) 115 A fair Tale was made to the Pastor of the Parish. 1695Congreve Love for Love iv. xiii, After all your fair speeches..and kissing, and hugging. 1873Burton Hist. Scot. V. lvi. 125 He has fallen away from all his fair promises. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 604 The Sophists have plenty of brave words and fair devices.
b. Proverbs.
1471[see fain a. 1 b]. c1572Gascoigne Fruites Warre Wks. 154 Fayre wordes make fooles fayne. 1593Drayton Idea lix, ‘Fair words make fools’, replieth he again. 1676Wycherley Pl. Dealer v. iii, Fair words butter no cabbage.
II.
6. Of complexion and hair: Light as opposed to dark.
App. not of very early origin. In the context of our first quot. ‘brown’ and ‘foul’ are treated as equivalent.
1551T. Wilson Logike (1580) 34 b, I shall marrie a faire woman..a browne woman. 1554J. Wallis in Songs & Ball. (Roxb. 1860) 146 [Women are] Fearare than the flower delyce, Ruddye as the rose. 1604Shakes. Oth. i. iii. 291 Your Son-in-law is farre more Faire then Blacke. a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 392 Negroes have their beauties as well as fair folk. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. x. 58 Are Violets not sweet, because not fair? 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 232 In all regions, the children are born fair, or at least red. 1803Med. Jrnl. X. 547 Persons who have the fairest skin. 1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 193 His [face]..Sear'd by the close ecliptic, was not fair.
III. Free from blemish or disfigurement.
†7. Of fruit, flesh, etc.: Sound, free from disease or specks. Obs.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 93 Þe fleisch is maad fairer þan it was tofore. c1450Two Cookery-bks. 83 Take faire rawe parcelly. 1669Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 165 The fairest may be kept for Seed, as before of Carrots. 1671Eng. Rogue IV. xi. 204 [Street cry] Fair Oranges,—Fair Lemons. c1770H. Glasse Compl. Confectioner 6 Take the fairest and firmest pippins.
8.
†a. Of things in general: Clean, unsoiled, unstained. Of paper: Not written upon, unused. Obs.
c1420Liber Cocorum (1862) 39 Put hit in cofyns þat bene fayre. c1450Two Cookery-bks. 82 Put þe pork on a faire spitte. 1552Bk. Com. Prayer Communion, A fayre white lynnen clothe. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xxxvi. (1682) 142, I took a fair glass siphon. 1703M. Martin W. Islands Scot. 278 They [the bones] were fair and dry. 1737Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 46 A paper book; all the leaves thereof were fair, except one. 1800Herschel in Phil. Trans. XC. 529 The vanes are covered with a piece of fair white paper.
b. Of water: Clean, pure. Now rare. † Of colour: Clear, not cloudy.
c1340Cursor M. 20212 (Fairf.) Ho..wasshed hir bodi in faire water. c1440Douce MS. 55 fol. 10 Bray hem in a morter small with feyre water. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 121 Most Bullockes..desire a faire cleere water. 1655Culpepper Riverius i. xi. 42 Fair water may suffice to wash the Feet. 1663Gerbier Counsel 108 As red as the fairest Vermilion. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. 65 Gun-powder of a faire Azure..colour is very good. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. xxxvi. 43 A Dish of Rice boiled in fair Water. 1756Burke Subl. & B. iii. xvii, The colours of beautiful bodies must not be dusky or muddy, but clean and fair. 1816Scott Antiq. xxxvi, A glass of fair water. 1858O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. (1883) 3 The rinsings..spoil a draught of fair water.
c. Of handwriting: Neat, clear, legible. fair copy: a transcript free from corrections. Cf. clean a. 3 c. See fair copy.
1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 355 This Letter was written in a very fair hand. 1709Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) II. 228 A fair copy of the Statutes. 1828Colebrooke Misc. Ess. (1873) I. 518 Let him appoint, as scribe, one..whose hand-writing is fair, etc. 1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. I, A fair copy of his draft of the catalogue.
d. Phrase. Cf. clean 3 d.
1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 64 Except hir maide shewe a fayre paire of heeles. 1630Wadsworth Sp. Pilgr. viii. 83, I shewed them a faire paire of heeles.
e. Of a line, curve, or surface: Free from roughnesses or irregularities; smooth, even. Now chiefly Naut.
1486Bk. St. Alban's D ij b, Take a tame Malarde and set hym in a fayr playn. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 42 b, The floore must be fayre and smoothe made. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 117 Fair, a term to denote the evenness or regularity of a curve or line. 1888Longfellow in Scribn. Mag. III. 424 Fair surfaces have fallen into neglect nowadays, our present fancy being for..wrinkled or blotchy surfaces.
9. Of character, conduct, reputation: Free from moral stain, spotless, unblemished. Also in phrase to stand fair.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 137 æuric mon þe ledeð feir lif and clene. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 85 Manie swo ledden here lif þat te biginninge was fair, and te middel fairere, and te ende alre fairest. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 14 Ailrik was..a duke of faire fame. 1676Hale Contempl. i. 47 A quiet, serene, and fair Conscience. a1704T. Brown Two Oxford Scholars Wks. 1730 I. 6 The poor painful priest standing fair in the Opinion of the neighbourhood. 1734Earl of Oxford in Swift's Lett. (1768) IV. 64 This person..had the fairest and most unexceptionable character. 1819Shelley Cenci iii. i. 293 My fair fame. 1892F. Hall in Nation (N.Y.) LV. 411/2 To the detriment of his fair fame.
10. a. Of conduct, actions, arguments, methods: Free from bias, fraud, or injustice; equitable, legitimate. Hence of persons: Equitable; not taking undue advantage; disposed to concede every reasonable claim. Of objects: That may be legitimately aimed at; often in fair game, fig.; fair wage(s) (also attrib.). See fair and square, fair trade.
c1340Cursor M. 13837 (Trin.) Þo dedes to vs be not faire. c1435Torr. Portugal 786 Were that feyer, To make an erlles sone myn Eyer? 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. ii. 95 The fat Calfe. Whereby, in a faire parabolicall interpretation, is meant..Christ himselfe. 1647Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) I. 77 L. C. doubts not of Lo. Bruces faire dealing. 1680Otway Orphan iii. i. 811 The fair Hunter's cheated of his Prey. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iii. x. (1695) 287 As fair a Man, as he..who sells several Things under the same Name. 1748Hartley Observ. Man i. iii. 278 Words which have the fairest Right to each Class. 1790Paley Horæ Paul. Rom. ii. 18 [It] is rendered a fair subject of presumption. 1801M. Edgeworth Belinda I. vii. 209 Quiz the doctor..he's an author—so fair game. 1816Bentham Chrestom. 296 In that character it becomes fair game for ridicule. 1825,1852[see game n. 10 b]. 1839T. Attwood Sp. in Ho. Com. 14 June, They only ask for a fair day's wages for a fair day's work. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 567 The king..would fall by fair fighting and not by murder. 1854H. Rogers Ess. II. i. 10 The fairest of all controversial antagonists. 1870Max Müller Sc. Relig. (1873) 150 note, It is but fair..to state. 1885Law Times 28 Mar. 388/2 A fair account should be given. 1886Pall Mall G. 27 Oct. 3/2 ‘Fair houses’, i.e. firms where the rules of the Union are followed. 1894S. & B. Webb Hist. Trade Unionism 386 A hundred and fifty local authorities have now (1894) adopted some kind of ‘Fair Wages’ resolution. 1902Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 692/1 The extent to which a ‘fair wages clause’, in some form or another, has been inserted in public contracts. 1907Westm. Gaz. 3 Sept. 7/1 The committee appointed to consider the fair-wages resolution. 1909Daily Chron. 11 Mar. 1/7 The Labour party's motion for a stricter fair-wage clause in Government contracts.
b. Of conditions, position, etc.: Affording an equal chance of success; not unduly favourable or adverse to either side. Phrase, a fair field (and no favour).
1711Puckle Club 22 note, Supposing both box and dice fair, gamesters have the peep, eclipse, thumbing. 1771Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 60, I was now on a fair footing with them. 1845James A. Neil I. vii. 143 That would not matter if the ground were fair. 1873‘Mark Twain’ & Warner Gilded Age 355 For the first time in his life his talents had a fair field. 1883E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 202 He..asked only for a fair field and a clear course.
c. fair play: upright conduct in a game; equity in the conditions or opportunities afforded to a player; transf. upright conduct, equitable conditions of action generally.
1595Shakes. John v. i. 67 Shall we vpon the footing of our land, Send fayre-play-orders, and make comprimise. Ibid. v. ii. 118 According to the faire-play of the world, Let me haue audience. 1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. A ij b, Some..name him when they quote him; and thats faire play. 1669Marvell Corr. cxxvi. Wks. 1872–5 II. 287 To give the fairest play to him. 1744Berkeley Let. Tarwater §21 Give this medicine fair play. 1824Scott Redgauntlet xx, Fair play's a jewel. 1844Disraeli Coningsby iv. v, To prevent his fine manners having their fair play. 1882C. M. Yonge Unknown to Hist. xxxvi, Fear of the future shut his eyes to all sense of justice and fair play.
d. spec. in games.
1856Spirit of Times (N.Y.) 6 Dec. 229/1 A player must make his first base after striking a fair ball. 1867Routledge's Handbk. Football 41 Knocking on and throwing forward are disallowed: in case of this rule being broken a catch from such a knock or throw shall be equivalent to a fair catch. Ibid. 47 A Fair Catch is a catch from a kick, or a knock on from the hand but not from the arm of the opposite side, or a throw on, when the catcher makes a mark with his heel provided no one else on his side touch the ball. 1896Knowles & Morton Baseball 23 If the ball falls exactly on the foul line, it is a fair hit, unless it rolls into foul territory. 1935Encycl. Sports 518/1 A fair catch can be made in a player's own In-goal. 1960E. S. & W. J. Higham High Speed Rugby xiii. 183 The method of making a fair-catch is to make a mark on the ground with the heel as the ball is caught, and to call: ‘Mark!’
e. fair do's: see do n.1 2 c.
f. fair enough, colloq. phr. implying acquiescence: ‘that's reasonable’.
[1866Trollope Belton Est. III. iii. 57 This was fair enough, and she..promised him that she would do her best.] 1926Wodehouse Heart of Goof ix. 304 ‘I am going to..tear him into little bits..and make him swallow himself.’ ‘Fair enough,’ said Mr. Brown. 1934A. Christie Parker Pyne Investigates 29 Wilbraham considered. ‘Fair enough,’ he said at last. ‘I agree.’ 1953J. B. Priestley in Best One-Act Plays 1952–53 118 ‘The mistress must not press any demands upon a man who, whatever their relations may have been, is not the man she really wants, as she herself has said.’ ‘Fair enough.’ 1958G. Barker Two Plays 18 ‘Why won't he come?’ ‘Simply because he don't want to.’ ‘Fair enough. Fair enough. Let's get the dinghy.’ 1959Cambr. Rev. 30 May 559/2 If one's employer makes plastic hot water bottles then, as far as humour goes, plastic hot water bottles will be his blind spot. Which, I came to suppose, was fair enough.
g. fair go: see go n. 4 d.
11. a. Expressing moderate commendation: Free from grave objection; of tolerable though not highly excellent quality; ‘pretty good’. Of amount or degree: Adequate though not ample; ‘respectable’.
[1795Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 317 The course taken by the enemy often becomes a fair rule of action.] 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xviii. 133 Fair glacier work was now before us. 1870Lubbock Orig. Civiliz. ii. (1875) 37 Very fair drawings of animals. 1873Black Pr. Thule xxiii. 385 A pretty fair notion of what had happened. 1874Green Short Hist. vi. 304 Edward the Sixth, was a fair scholar in both the classical languages. 1875Hamerton Intell. Life x. v. 388 A person in fair health. 18..R. Kipling Railway Folk 56 A fair number of old soldiers.
b. In school reports, marking a passable degree of excellence.
1861V. Lushington in Working Men's Coll. Mag. 149 Power to refuse the required certificate of school-attendance, unless the school is ‘fair’ for the purpose intended.
c. Unquestionable, absolute, complete, thorough (dial. or slang). Freq. Austral. and N.Z. See also dink n.4 and a.2, dinkum B. adj.
1872E. J. Irving Fireside Lays 232 The sichts an' the soun's that we witnessed, Amaist made me greet for fair shame. 1889, etc. Fair cop [see cop n.7 1]. 1902W. Satchell Land of Lost iv. 26 While it [sc. others' money] held out it would be a fair pour. 1916, etc. [see cow n.1 4 c]. 1937N. Marsh Vintage Murder xxi. 174 ‘A fair nark’ or, more emphatically, ‘a fair cow’ is anything inexpressibly tedious or baffling. 1944N. Coward Middle East Diary 10 They can ramp about among obscure English essayists and have a fair beano.
d. a fair treat: something or someone highly enjoyable or satisfactory; also as advb. phr. colloq.
1898J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 3 The way 'e set abaht Bill was a fair treat: why, Bill couldn't git a look-in nohow. 1899[see treat n.1 5 b]. 1902E. Nesbit Five Children & It. iv. 119 As Cyril said, and I can't think where he got hold of such a strange expression, ‘It does you a fair treat!’ 1905H. G. Wells Kipps i. iv. 80 These little Folkestone hills are a Fair Treat. 1936‘N. Blake’ Thou Shell of Death iii. 52 Miss Cavendish. You're looking a fair treat.
IV. Favourable; benign; unobstructed.
12. a. Of the weather: Favourable, not wet or stormy. Also with some notion of sense 1: Fine, bright, sunny. Now sometimes contrasted with fine, as ‘the weather was fair, but not fine’.
c1205Lay. 7594 Heo hæfden swiðe fair weder. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1077 His seruands on a day fayre Bare him with oute to take þe ayre. 1535Coverdale Ecclus. iii. 15 Thy synnes also shall melt awaye, like as the yse in y⊇ fayre warme wether. 1611Bible Matt. xvi. 2 It will be faire weather: for the skie is red. a1671R. Bohun Disc. Wind 122 At Surat, Malabar..and that coast of India, is the fair season till March. 1713Berkeley Ess. Guardian v. Wks. III. 161 Fair weather is the joy of my soul. 1781Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 71 October..mild and fair as May. 1867Ouida C. Castlemaine (1879) 6 The morning was fair and cloudless.
†b. fair day, fair daylight = broad day, daylight.
c1450Merlin 610 It was than feire day. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxv. 392 It was faire day or he coude get into the right waye. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 308 It was yet scarce fair day, when..the armies..began again the battell. 1605Shakes. Lear iv. vii. 52 Where am I? Faire day light?
c. fig.; esp. in phrases, † to make fair weather to, with: to curry favour with. † to make it fair with: to deal complaisantly with.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 365 Crist..wolde not make it fair wiþ þes ordris. 1598Marston Sco. Villanie i. 139 Ixion makes faire weather vnto love. 1625Bacon Ess., Friendship (Arb.) 173 Frendship maketh indeed a faire Day in the Affections, from Storme and Tempests. 1687R. L'Estrange Answ. Diss. 5 The Roman Catholiques are making Fair Weather with the Dissenters. 1866Crump Banking ix. 217 For fair weather the Act of 1844 works.
13. Of the wind: Favourable to a ship's course. † to come fair: to become favourable.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame 1967 Of faire wyndes and eke of tempestes. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. ii. 123 The wind sits fair for news to go to Ireland. 1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 386 So soon as the wind came fair aboard away we went. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. 374 To proceed..with the first fair wind. 1879Beerbohm Patagonia 1 A fair wind..soon brought us close to our destination.
14. a. Giving promise of success; ‘likely to succeed’ (J.); likely, promising, advantageous, suitable. Of a star, omen: Propitious. Phrases, † to be, seem, stand fair for, or to with inf.; to be in a fair way † of, to: to have a good chance of (doing, obtaining, or reaching something).
1375Barbour Bruce xvii. 837 To se quhethir fayr war him till To ly about the toun all still. c1400Destr. Troy 1119 Now fraist we before how fairest wille be. c1550Lloyd Treas. Health (1585) 8 Ther is no better..nor no fayrer cure. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 10 A stand where you may make the fairest shoote. 1596― Merch. V. ii. i. 20 Your selfe..stood as faire As any commer..For my affection. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 113 They..let slip that so faire an opportunitie. a1618Raleigh Ess. (1650) E v, The Caliphes..obteined..a mighty Empire, which was in faire way to have enlarged. 1642Rogers Naaman 11 Many more..who might seeme faire for it [the grace of God]. 1655Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) II. 197 Cardinal Francisco Barbarini is belieued to stand fair to be elected pope. 1669Baxter Call to Unconverted iv, How fair you are for everlasting salvation. 1676Wiseman Surg. v. ix. 386, I presently looked for the jugular veins..opened the fairest, and took away..a dozen ounces of blood. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 29, I once was, as I thought, fair for the Cœlestial City. 1683Dryden Vind. Dk. of Guise, The first play I undertook was the Duke of Guise, as the fairest way..of setting forth the rise of the late rebellion. 1757Burke Abridgm. Eng. Hist. Wks. 1842 II. 563 The crown, to which he had such fair pretensions. 1814D. H. O'Brien Captiv. & Escape 101 Being at last in a fair way of succeeding. c1820Shelley Homer's Hymn to Castor 20 Fair omen of the voyage. 1822― Trium. of Life 256 The star that ruled his doom was far too fair. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 551 A fair prospect of reaching their destination.
†b. a fair day: success in battle. Obs.
1548Hall Chron. 76 b, A famous victory and a faire daie. 1550Crowley Way to Wealth 602 The Egiptians thought to haue had a faire day at them. 1600Holland Livy vi. xxxii. 239 They [the Romans]..were but only in some good hope of having a fair day of their enemies.
†c. to have the fairer (of): to get the better or upper hand of. Obs.
1375Barbour Bruce x. 77 Thair ennymyes Had all the fayrer off the fycht. c1400Destr. Troy 6882 Þe troiens..þe fairer of þe fyght in þe feld had. Ibid. 7990 If it falle me by fortune the feirer to haue.
15. Of a means or procedure, and of language: Gentle, peaceable, not violent. † Of the countenance: Benignant, kindly. † Of death: Easy, ‘natural’; without violence.
In fair means the adj. can also have the sense 10, and sometimes has a mixed sense.
1340–70Alex. & Dind. 45 He wolde fare wiþ his folk in a faire wise To bi-holden here hom & non harm wirke. 1548Hall Chron. 176 Determining either by force or fayre meanes, to bring their purpose to a conclusion. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 1161 With a faire countenance, and a majestie full of mildnesse..hee..sought to appease them. Ibid. 1332 To seduce men either by force or faire persuasion. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 101 Ferdinand..thought it his duty to draw, either by fair meanes or foul, all his Subjects to the Roman Catholick Religion. 1671Milton Samson 688 Not only dost..remit To life obscur'd, which were a fair dismission. c1680Hickeringill Hist. Whiggism Wks. (1716) I. 74 The Lord Treasurer Weston dyed of his fair death, flying beyond Sea. 1703Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 9 Try first by fair means. 1704J. Logan in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. IX. 292, I have used both fair and foul words. 1832Lander Adv. Niger I. iii. 160 They..endeavoured to obtain her by fair means.
16. Free from obstacles; unobstructed, open.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §19 The waye is lyke to be fayre and drye. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 69 A faire breach for the Christians to enter. 1622Bacon Hen. VII 12 Left faire to interpretation eyther way. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. Table of Contents, His horse stumbling in a very fair way. 1670Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. (1711) I. 79 Keep the South-shore in fair view. 1682Bunyan Holy War v, They made a fair retreat. 1712W. Rogers Voy. 49 Go out on the other side..which I think is the fairest Outlet. 1768J. Byron Narrative 10 The sea making a fair breach over her. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague iii. iv, Keep back..so that each man may have A fair view of the pit. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. 12 The fairest though farthest way about is the nearest way home.
17. Open to view, plainly to be seen, clear, distinct. Now chiefly dial.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 157 b, The white..are alwaies the fairest marke in a Hawke, or a Bussardes eie. 1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. v, Fair on the face [God] wrote the index of the mind. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xix. (1675) 282 The fairer and wider Marks that may be hit in many places. 1671Grew Anat. Plants i. ii. §8 Although in all places of the Root they are visible, yet most fair and open about the filamentous Extremities of some Roots. 1847Tennyson Princ. ii. 305 All her thoughts..fair within her eyes. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., Lincoln Minster's fair to see fra Barton field.
18. a. Comb., chiefly parasynthetic, as, fair-ankled, fair-born, fair-cheeked, fair-coloured, fair-complexioned, fair-conditioned, fair-eyed, fair-featured, fair-fortuned, fair-fronted, fair-horned, fair-maned, fair-minded (hence fair-mindedness), fair-natured, fair-outsided, fair-reputed, fair-sized, fair-skinned, fair-spaced, fair-speeched, fair-tongued, fair-tressed, fair-visaged, fair-weathered, fair-zoned.
c1624Chapman tr. Homer's Batrachomyomachia 148 Her *faire-anckl'd Mother. 1851Buckley Iliad xiv. 261 Fair-ankled Danaë. 1875Longfellow Pandora vi, Zeus..like a swan flies to fair⁓ankled Leda!
1830Brewster Edin. Cycl. VII. i. 49/2 The *fair born children of Negroes.
1870Bryant Iliad I. i. 9 Let the *fair-cheeked maid Embark, Chryseis.
1757Dyer Fleece iii. 154 *Fair-colour'd threads.
a1773Ld. Lyttleton Wks. 1776. I. 189 A very pretty, *fair-complexioned girl. 1866Carlyle Remin. i. 139 She was of the fair-complexioned..and comely type.
1634Laud Wks. (1860) VII. 92 A very honest, *fair-conditioned man.
1591Greene Maidens Dreame xi, *Fair-ey'd pity in his heart did dwell. 1630Drayton Muses Elysium, Noah's Flood 270 The bull..to the ark brings on the fair-ey'd cow. a1845Hood Lamia v. 30, I thought This fair-eyed day would never see you from me!
1850Mrs. Browning Poems II. 30 O *fair-featured maids.
1847James Convict iv, I was once as prosperous and as *fair-fortuned as himself.
1830Tennyson Clear-headed Friend 12 *Fair-fronted Truth shall droop not now.
1777R. Potter æschylus' Supplicants 324 Does Jove approach her in this *fair-horn'd state?
1632Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry iv. i, I..pick my choice Of all their *fair-maned mares.
1874Morley Compromise (1886) 187 An honest and *fair-minded man's own instincts.
1853Lynch Self-Improv. iv. 96 Discipline for temper and *fair⁓mindedness.
1634Ford P. Warbeck v. ii, Young Buckingham is a *fair-natured prince.
1637Rutherford Lett. lxxxviii. (1862) I. 227 A blasted and sunburnt flower, even this plastered, *fair-outsided world.
1795J. Fawcett Art of War 4 In the number rank'd Of *fair-reputed callings.
1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. iv. (1889) 30 They were *fair-sized rooms..furnished plainly but well.
1827G. Higgins Celtic Druids 98 The *fair-skinned tribe of martial Germans.
1820Keats Lamia ii. 273 Now no azure vein Wander'd on *fair-spaced temples.
1567Drant Horace Epist. ii. i. G iv, This *fayre-speachde queare. 1805T. Holcroft Mem. B. Perdue I. 16 Fair-speeched gentlemen as they are.
1842Faber Styrian Lake 345 He is a *fair⁓tongued knight.
1870Bryant Iliad I. ix. 288 Angry with me for the sake Of a *fair-tressed wanton.
1607T. Walkington Optic Glass xv. (1664) 157 He was comely and *fair⁓visag'd.
1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 642 The Country [Brazil]..is..*faire weathered. 1768Life & Adv. Sir Barth. Sapskull I. 50 Suppose they have fair-weather'd countenances.
1725Pope Odyss. xxiii. 142 *Fair-zon'd damsels form the sprightly dance.
b. Special comb. † fair-chance, some kind of game or lottery; fair-curve (see quot.); fair-face a., of brickwork, = fair-faced a. 3; fair-fashioned a., Sc. ‘having great appearance of discretion without the reality; having great complaisance of manner’ (Jam.); fair-hair, Sc. = paxy-waxy; fair-handed a., (a) † of a horse (see quot. 1614); (b) having well-formed hands; Fair Hebe jug, a jug inscribed with the words ‘Fair Hebe’ (see quots.); fair-skin, a fair-skinned person; fair-to-middling a. (also adv.), slightly above average; fair-walling (see quot. 1886); fair-world, ‘a good time, state of prosperity’ (W.).
1755Mem. Capt. P. Drake II. xi. 235 A Pharaoh Table Cards, and a *Fair Chance being ready.
1775Ash, *Fair⁓curve [printed fair-carve]. 1823Crabb Technol. Dict. s.v., A Fair-Curve, in delineating ships, is a winding line whose shape is varied according to the part of the ship it is intended to describe.
1948Archit. Rev. CIV. 186 The north wall is *fair-face brick.
1816Scott Old Mort. v, ‘Hegh, sirs, sae *fair-fashioned as we are!’ 1823E. Logan St. Johnstoun II. 195 ‘Ye are aye sae fair-fashioned..there's scarce ony saying again' ye.’
1614Markham Cheap Husb. 6 Observe in any wise to have them [mares] *fayre⁓handed, that is, good head, necke, breast, and shoulders. 1728–46Thomson Spring 528 Fair-handed Spring unbosoms every grace.
[1903R. L. Hobson Catal. Eng. Pott. Brit. Mus. 288 Jug..in the form of a tree stump, round the base of which are fiqures..a man offering a nest full of eggs to a girl seated on a log, between them a scroll inscribed *Fair Hebe..signed I. Voyez 1788.] 1912W. Chaffers Marks Pott. & Porc. (ed. 13) 698 Some ‘Fair Hebe’ jugs also bear the mark of Voyez. 1929H. Read Staffs. Pott. Figures 16 We do not know when he [sc. Voyez] returned to Staffordshire and have no evidence of his connection with Ralph Wood until 1788, which is the date of the famous ‘Fair Hebe’ jug... Several copies of this jug are known..they always bear Voyez's signature.
1901Kipling Kim x. 254 Besides, a Pathan is a *fair-skin.
1865‘A. Ward’ A. Ward: His Travels 41 The men are *fair to middling. 1884A. Doherty N. Barlow xi. 66, I guess my wallet's fair-to-middling fat. 1900H. Garland Eagle's Heart 223 ‘How'd they feed ye back there?’..‘Oh, fair to middlin'.’ 1961Listener 5 Oct. 527/2 A fair-to-middling detective story.
1886S.W. Linc. Gloss., *Fair-walling, the level, smoothly-built masonry or brickwork above the roughly-built foundations.
a1674Milton (W.), They think it was never *fair-world with them since.
B. n.2 [The adj. used absol. or elliptically.]
1. a. That which is fair (in senses of the adj.); the fair side or face; also in phrases, by (soft and) fair: by fair means. for (foul nor) fair: for fair words or treatment.
In the expressions fair befall and the like the word admits of being taken either as n. or adv. The advb. sense is prob. original (see fair adv. 6 b), but cf. quot. 1423 below.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 85 To turne þe fayre outwarde. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. cxc, Fair and lufe befall The nychtingale. 1456How Wise Man taught Son 151 in Hazl. E.P.P. (1864) 175 [Be] soft and fayre men make tame Hert and buk. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour (1868) 6 A lorde wolde haue a gentille woman, bi faire or be force. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. iii. 90 'Tis much pride For faire without, the faire within to hide. 1611― Cymb. i. vi. 37 Can we not Partition make..Twixt faire, and foule? 1627–47Feltham Resolves 429 Their blacke tongue can never spot the faire of virtue. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xv. x, Nothing short of the fair and honourable, will satisfy the delicacy of their minds. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 529 After..frequent interchange of foul and fair.
b. colloq. to see fair = ‘to see fair play’.
1837Dickens Pickw. xxv. (C.D. ed.) 218 If you will step in there..Mr. Weller will see fair. 1891Daily News 11 Mar. 5/2 The police..came up to see fair between both sides.
c. for fair: completely, altogether. U.S. slang.
1900Flynt & Walton Powers that Prey 180 They're goin' to railroad him for fair. The World says the police found the weapon on him. 1903N.Y. Times 5 Dec. 5 ‘I seem to be putting my foot in it for fair,’ said the green marine. 1916H. L. Wilson Somewhere in Red Gap viii. 352 Pete must of [= have] been crazy for fair about that time. 1957J. Kerouac On Road (1958) i. ix. 53 Then we danced and started on the beer for fair.
d. fair's fair: (reciprocal) fairness is called for. colloq.
1898S. Weyman Castle Inn xxiii. 231 No, but fair's fair, and if I am not in this, it is low. 1938C. S. Forester Ship of Line ix. 118 Fair's fair..I'll spin a coin for it. 1963C. Mackenzie My Life & Times II. 161 ‘No, no,’ said Mr Green, with a sigh of noble resignation. ‘Fair's fair. They're your plums now.’ 1969Private Eye 25 Apr. 12 Fair's fair Eric, for cripes sake!
2. One of the fair sex, a woman; esp. a beloved woman. Now arch. or poet.
1423Jas. I Kingis Q. lxvi, That faire vpward hir eye Wold cast. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xxiv. 84 The fayer þ⊇ proude pucell. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 182 O happie faire! Your eyes are loadstarres. 1638Ford Lady's Trial iii. i, The best, though call em..Faires, fines, and honies, are but flesh and blood. 1647Crashaw Poems 146 Say, ling'ring fair! why comes the birth Of your brave soul so slowly forth? 1747Gentl. Mag. Apr. (Ld. Lovat's Execution), No fair forgets the ruin he has done. 1847L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. I. x. 177 Pursuing his fair in a solitary street. 1876Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 169 Some prouder fair hath humbled Thy proud passion.
transf.1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 202 Produce him to the Fair; And join in Wedlock to the longing Mare.
†3. A person with a fair complexion.
1771T. Hull Hist. W. Harrington (1797) III. 1 One is a fair, the other a brunet.
†4.
a. Beauty, fairness, good looks. Also pl.: Points or traits of beauty. Obs.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxii. §2 Þæs lichoman fæᵹer and his streon..maᵹon beon afeorred. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 19 Þe mone and þe sune wundrieð of faire. a1225Juliana 6 He sumchere iseh hire utnume feir. a1240Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 193 Heo neuer ne beoð sead þi ueir to iseonne. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 98 My decayed faire, A sunnie looke of his, would soone repaire. 1599Marston Sco. Villanie ii. vii. 207 The greene meades, whose natiue outward faire Breathes sweet perfumes. 1633P. Fletcher Elisa ii, His weeping spouse Eliza..all her beauteous fairs with grief infecting.
†b. Comb.
1622Drayton Poly-olb. Song xxviii, 388 The fayre⁓enamoured Flood.
▸ fair bet n. a hypothesis or assumption which is likely to be correct; chiefly with that-clause.
1857J. Stirling Lett. from Slave States xii. 151 Not one man in ten resides in the place of his birth; and it is a *fair bet that he comes from a different State from that in which you find him. 1964Telegraph (Brisbane) 24 Sept. 5/2 It is a fair bet that, with some bush natives taking full advantage of their drinking rights, there will be some lively corroborees in lounges and beer gardens. 2004K. L. Grant Trading Risk i. 2 If we do this job well, it's a fair bet we will be rewarded; if not, we are highly likely to suffer a penalty.
▪ III. fair, adv.|fɛə(r)|
Forms: 1 fæȝre; 3–4 as those of the adj. with the addition of -e; 5– coincident with those of the adj.
[OE. fæᵹre, f. fæᵹer, fair a.]
In a fair manner or degree.
1. In a beautiful or comely manner; agreeably, beautifully, brightly, handsomely, nobly.
a1000Cædmon's Gen. 210 (Gr.) Fæᵹere leohte þæt liðe land lago yrnende. c1000ælfric Gram. xxxviii. (Z.) 228 Fæᵹere he syngþ. c1175Cott. Hom. 219 Þa wes þes tyendes hapes alder swiþe feir isceapen. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 71 Somme seiden he was godes sone þat so faire deyede. c1400Rom. Rose 108 Bowes blosmed feyre. c1440Gesta Rom. i. 3 (Harl. MS.) The goode man..faire endid his liffe. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 150 The Latin tong did faire blome. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 5 So faire he bare his age, as I tooke him to be scarse fiftie. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 142 The Moone shines faire. 1600― A.Y.L. iii. ii. 97 All the pictures fairest Linde are but blacke to Rosalinde. 1632Sir R. Le Grys tr. Paterculus 377 The excellent Generall..preferred things profitable before such as shewed faire. 1738Wesley Psalms i. 3 Spread out his boughs and flourish fair.
2. a. Civilly, courteously, kindly. Now only in phr. to speak (a person) fair.
a1000Cædmon's Gen. 2351 (Gr.) Him..fæᵹere..ece drihten andswarode. c1175Lamb. Hom. 53 Þis faȝe folc..speket..feire biforen heore euencristene. c1205Lay. 4842 Wha swa oðerne imette þer fæire hine igrætte. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 90 Morice þider com, and faire was vnderfonge. c1350Will. Palerne 347 Þemperour..comande þe couherde curteysli and fayre, to heue vp þat hende child. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5346 Þar come a monke and prayde him faire. c1460How Goode Wif taught Doughter 65 in Hazl. E.P.P. (1864) 184 Alle ben nought trewe that faire spekyn. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 87 They that speak fair, fair shall hear again. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iii. ii. 186 So faire an offer'd Chaine. 1695Congreve Love for L. iii. iii, I spoke you fair, d'ye see, and civil. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xlv, The work-people..spoke him soft and fair. a1866Neale Hymn, ‘Christian, dost thou see them’, Christian, dost thou hear them, How they speak thee fair?
†b. (To keep, part) fair: i.e. on good terms with. Obs. or arch.
a1400–50Alexander 2750 He..twynnys with þaim faire. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. i. 207 Tap for tap, and so part faire. 1641Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) I. 25 His Majestie..will certainly part fayre with this people. 1671–2Sir C. Lyttelton in Hatton Corr. (1878) 80 The Spaniard and wee shall still continue faire together. 1700Dryden Palamon & Arc. ii. 164 Fair they parted till the Morrow's Dawn. 1715Lond. Gaz. No. 5332/1 To keep fair with the Persian Court. 1823Scott Quentin D. xxiii, We must keep fair with him.
3. In neat and legible handwriting; clearly, legibly, plainly.
1513More Rich. III in Grafton Chron. II. 782 This Proclamacion..was..fayre written in Parchement. 1666Pepys Diary (1879) IV. 15 Up betimes to the office, to write fair a laborious letter. 1705J. Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 151 A copy..which he promised as soon as it could be fair drawn out. 1774Chesterfield Lett. I. xvi. 50, I desire that you would translate and copy it fair into a book. 1832F. A. Kemble Jrnl. in Rec. Girlh. (1878) III. 187 After tea I..copied fair a speech I had been writing. 1838Card. Newman Lett. (1891) II. 250, I then write it out fair for the printer.
4. Equitably, honestly, impartially, justly; according to rule. Also in phr. fair and square.
c1300Havelok 224 Al was youen, faire and wel. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 141 Heauen shield my Mother plaid my Father faire. 1680Otway Orphan ii. vii, I can never think you meant me fair. a1764Lloyd Dial. betw. Author & Friend Poet. Wks. 1774 II. 14 Read their works, examine fair. 1885North Star 1 July 3/2 Lord Randolph..has ever hit fair.
†5. In a proper or suitable manner; becomingly, befittingly. Also, fair and sweetly, fair and well.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 446 Kyng Henry..yburede ys þere [at Reading] vayre ynou. c1340Cursor M. 10448 (Trin.) Leue þi bere, Cloþe þe feire. c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 560 He hem leyde faire and wel adoun. c1430Freemasonry 608 Knele down fayre on bothe thy knen. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour A j, Whiche fayre and swetely chastysed her doughters. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccix. 467 Fayre fared, quoth the constable, we are nat in mynde to do to our enemys so moche auantage. 1526Tindale 2 Cor. v. 11 We fare fayre [Luther fahren wir schön] with men. 1544Bale Chron. Sir J. Oldcastell in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 271 Bury them [images] fayre in the ground. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 44 To ride faire, is most cumelie for him selfe. 1607Shakes. Cor. iv. vi. 118 You have crafted faire. 1665Dryden Ind. Emperor v. ii, Stand fair, and let my Heart-blood on thee flow.
6. a. With good promise; promisingly, auspiciously; favourably, prosperously. Obs. exc. in to bid, promise fair: see the vbs.
1154O.E. Chron. an. 1154 Nu is abbot & fair haued begunnon. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. xi. 17 Faire mote he thee. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. ii. 123 The winde sits faire. 1596― 1 Hen. IV, v. v. 43 Since this Businesse so faire is done.
†b. With impers. vbs. used optatively. fair be to you: prosperity attend you. fair befall, cheve, fall: see the verbs. Obs. exc. arch.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. i. 46 Faire be to you my Lord. 1867J. Ingelow Gladys 306 O rare, The island! fair befall the island; let Me reach the island!
†7.
a. Gently, quietly, without haste or violence. Chiefly in phrases, fair and easily, evenly, softly.
a1000Menol. (Fox) 314 He fæᵹere mid wætere oferwearp wuldres cynebearn. c1374Chaucer Troylus v. 347 Þei take it wisely faire & softe. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. cxxxv. (1869) 71 If thei [the armour] ben heuy, go faire. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xviii. 22 The oste.. rode fayre and easely all the daye. 1552Huloet, Fayre and..softlye, suspenso gradu. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 210 The proverb is old and true, ‘Fair and softly goeth far’. 1622S. Ward Life of Faith in Death (1627) 63 Sometimes he followes faire and a farre off, lingers aloofe and out of sight, etc. 1653Urquhart Rabelais i. xxiii, He returned fair and softly. 1782Cowper Gilpin 85 So fair and softly, John he cried. 1804M. Edgeworth Pop. Tales, Will ix, Fair and softly goes far in a day.
†b. Moderately, not excessively. Obs.
c1450Two Cookery-bks. 71 Leche it faire, but not to thyn. Ibid. 82 Roste hem faire.
8. Evenly, on a level. Chiefly dial.
1708Lond. Gaz. No. 4422/7 The nine Sail stood in fair with us. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., ‘Th' table doesn't stand fair.’ 1882Daily Tel. 4 May, The plate does not lie fair on the frames.
†9.
a. Directly, straight, ‘due (north, etc.)’. Obs.
c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xx. 449 Reynawd..wente fayre vpon the folke of Charlemagne. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. ii. 35, I came fair on the south side of my island. 1720― Capt. Singleton xi. (1840) 185 They stood..fair after us. Ibid. xv. (1840) 255 We stood away fair west.
b. With reference to a blow, etc.: ‘Clean’, ‘full’, plump, straight.
c1340Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2229 Fayre on his fote he foundez on þe erþe. 1823Scott Quentin D. xiv, Striking his antagonist fair upon the breast. 1891Blackw. Mag. CL. 651/2 A living catapult, that if he took you fair, would knock the life out of you.
c. Completely, fully, quite. Cf. clean adv. 5. Now dial., U.S., Austral., and N.Z.
c1330Amis. & Amil. 2388 To-morn thei schull beryed ben, As thei faire ded were. a1400–50Alexander 2230 Som..faire fest on a fyre att þe foure ȝates. 1457Agnes Paston in Past. Lett. (1787) I. xxxv. 144, I had leuer he wer fayr beryed than lost for defaute. 1494Househ. Ord. 130 When he cometh to the church..take the image and chest downe, and beare him faire into the church. 1868Atkinson Cleveland Gloss. s.v., ‘It [a cat]'s fair wild.’ 1897D. McK. Wright Station Ballads 55, I feel fair sick. 1904‘G. B. Lancaster’ Sons o' Men 88 It fair gets me down to see the poor brutes dying. 1928J. Devanny Dawn Beloved xix. 190, I get fair sick of it. 1935H. W. Horwill Dict. Mod. Amer. Usage 125/2 Fair, in the sense of completely, fully, or clearly, distinctly, this word is now obs. in Eng. exc. in certain dial., but is still current in Am. 1945Coast to Coast 1944 200 It fair gets my goat. 1966J. Hackston Father clears Out 181 A cow..will come home, and, in a most flagrant manner, deposit a pat fair bang in the bail.
†d. Clearly, distinctly, plainly. Obs.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. ii. 2 Þe feld ful of folke ich shal ȝow fayre shewe. c1400Destr. Troy Prol. 82 Here fynde shall ye faire of þe felle peopull, What Kynges þere come of costes aboute. 1628Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 2 The pointe of the Lizard faire in sight. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 256 We were fair in sight of Cape Corrientes.
10. Comb.
a. With agent-nouns and vbl. ns. forming ns., as fair-dealer, fair-dealing, fair-doing, fair-seeming, fair-speaking.
1746Lockman To First Promoter Cambrick & Tea Bills 25 A Craft, indeed, gives some *Fair-dealers pain.
1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 63 There is as much difference between one sort and another, as between *fair-dealing and hypocrisy.
1879Farrar St. Paul (1883) 443 Let them not be weary in *fair-doing.
1724Savage Sir T. Overbury i. i. 6 The Statesman's Promise, or false Patriot's Zeal, Full of *fair Seeming, but Delusion all.
1483Vulgaria abs Terentio 25 b, If it wyll be wyth giffynge and *faire spekynge I shall nott be behynde.
b. With adjs., as fair-fierce, fair-seemly, fair-sweet, and with pres. pples. forming adjs., as fair-applauding, fair-blazing, fair-blooming, fair-boding, fair-dealing, fair-flowing, fair-glaring, fair-growing, fair-revolving, fair-seeming, fair-shining, fair-sounding, fair-speaking, fair-spreading, fair-thinking, fair-winding.
1777R. Potter æschylus' Supplicants 1005 The voice Of *fair-applauding fame.
1726–46Thomson Winter 312 The officious wife prepares The fire *fair-blazing.
1740Shenstone Judgm. Hercules 339 *Fair-blooming Health surveys her altars there.
1594Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 227 The..*fairest boading Dreames, That euer entred in a drowsie head.
1718Freethinker No. 14. 96 A *fair-dealing, honourable Merchant.
1580Sidney Arcadia (1613) 224–5 She, *faire-fierce, to such a state me calls.
1848Clough Amours de Voy. iii. 85 The cypress-spires by the *fair-flowing stream.
1649G. Daniel Trinarch. To Rdr. 51 The *faire-Glareing Tulip.
1870Bryant Iliad II. xxi. 291 A tall *fair-growing elm.
1708J. Philips Cyder ii. 523 *Fair-revolving years.
1625K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis iv. xviii. 303 Adulterate vertue, and *faire-seeming vice. 1776‘C. Melmoth’ Pupil of Pleasure I. vii. Plausible exterior, fair-seeming sentiments, etc. 1920D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl xvi. 359 Your fair-seeming face covered the schemes and vice of your true nature.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 30 *Faire-seemely pleasaunce each to other makes.
1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. i. 40 Hence forward will I beare Vpon my Targuet three *faire shining Sunnes.
1798Invasion I. 227 Unsuspicious of the treachery concealed beneath words so *fair-sounding. 1871E. F. Burr Ad Fidem iii. 39 Fair-sounding terms.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vi. xiii. (1495) 198 In a good wyfe byhoueth that she be *fayre spekynge. 1647Clarendon Contempl. on Ps. Tracts (1727) 517 To grapple with our fair-speaking adversaries.
1746Thomson Autumn 246 His..once *fair-spreading Family dissolv'd.
1581Sidney Astr. & Stella lxxxii, Sweet-gard'n-nymph..most *faire-sweet, do not..banish mee.
1915F. M. Hueffer Good Soldier ii. i. 108 The upright..*fair-thinking, public character.
1746Thomson Summer 1426 The matchless vale of Thames; *Fair-winding up to where the muses haunt.
c. With pa. pples. forming adjs., as fair-betrothed, fair-bound, fair-built, fair-compacted, fair-contrived, fair-divided, fair-exstructed, fair-feathered, fair-folded, fair-forged, fair-plastered, fair-sculptured, fair-set, fair-sunned, fair-told, fair-written.
1608Shakes. Per. v. iii. 71 This prince, the *fair-betrothed of your daughter.
1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 129 Some goodly *faire bound Senecaes Tragedies.
1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. 1. Eden 372 The *fair-built Bridge..More like a tradefull City.
1655H. Vaughan Silex Scint. i. (1858) 49 A *faire-compacted frame.
1645Quarles Sol. Recant. 55 Thy *faire-contriv'd designes.
1746Thomson Autumn 832 The *fair-divided earth.
1647H. More Song of Soul ii. iii. iii. xxiii, Those *fair extructed loads Of carvèd stone.
1607A. Brewer Lingua i. i, A speech *faire fetherd could not flie.
1844Ld. Houghton Mem. Many Scenes, To Landor 144 He..fed his heart—as thou—On storied Fiesole's *fair-folded brow.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 2 That *faire-forged spright.
1535Coverdale Ecclus. xxii. 17 Lyke as a *fayre playstred wall in a winter house.
1870Bryant Iliad I. iv. 117 Ships with..*fair-sculptured prows.
1648Herrick Hesper. I. 121 A full spread, *faire-set Vine.
1850Mrs. Browning Poems II. 300 Prayers—that upward mount Like to a *fair-sunned fount.
1548Hall Chron. 153 Whiche *faire told tale, allured to hym muche people.
1700Prior Carmen Seculare 27 Her *fair-written page.
▪ IV. fair, v.|fɛə(r)|
Forms: α. 1 fæȝrian, 2 feiren, 4 fairen, 5 fayre, 7– fair; β. 4 vayren. Also, see yfaired.
[ME. feiren, OE. fæᵹrian, f. fæᵹer, fair. In later use directly f. fair a.]
†1.
a. intr. To appear or become fair or clean.
a1000Seafarer 48 (Gr.) Bearwas blostmum nimað, byriᵹ fæᵹriað. c1300K. Alis. 2903 Mury hit is in sonne-risyng!..Weyes fairith. 1340Ayenb. 95 Þis trau greneþ and uayreþ be his uirtue.
b. Of the weather: To clear; esp. with away, off, or up. dial. and U.S.
1836E. L. Willson Diary 29 May (1929), It was still rainy; towards night it faired away. 1842Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 182 We are to go, if it fairs, to take tea at a show place. a1859Western Tales (Bartlett), He..moved to the North, and whenever he see a fog risin', took to his bed, and kept it till it fair'd off. a1859Spirit of Times (N.Y.) (ibid.), There's going to be a nasty fog to-night,..call me if it fairs up. 1859W. White Northumb. & Border 448 The squall lasted for nearly two hours. When it ‘faired up’ the son said [etc.]. 1867G. M. Hopkins Jrnl. 29 Aug. (1959) 153 Dull, fairing in afternoon. 1868Times 16 Sept. 9 The weather faired by mid-day. 1878Stevenson Inland Voy. 160 It faired as the night went on, and the moon came out of the clouds. Ibid. 177 The afternoon faired up. 1891M. M. Dowie Girl in Karp. 148 When it rained he turned the furry side out..when it faired, he..reversed it. 1899T. D. Price MS. Diary 28 Apr., Rain in morning but faired up and good day. 1903A. Adams Log of Cowboy viii. 110 The weather in the meantime had faired off. 1923W. Stevens Let. 30 Jan. (1967) 233 Later in the morning it faired off, as they say. 1951L. Craig Singing Hills 68 He spoke of how it had weathered up considerable the day before, but it had faired up without a rain to do any good. 1960V. Williams Walk Egypt (1961) ii. vii. 140 He tipped his head back and scanned the sky. ‘Looks like it's fairing off some.’
†2. trans. To make fair; to make clean or good-looking; to beautify. Obs.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 53 Þus heo doð for to feiren heom seluen. c1320Cast. Love 876 Þe rihtwys sone..fairede hir more a þousend folde. 1340Ayenb. 233 Þise zix leues..uayreþ moche þe lylye of maydenhod. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 69 Faire doughtres..holde it in youre herte that ye putte no thinge to..fayre youre uisages. c1600Shakes. Sonn. cxxvii, Fairing the foul with art's false borrow'd face.
3. Ship-building. To make fair or level; to ascertain the correctness of curvature in the various parts of a ship; to fit the beams, plates, etc., according to the curvature. Also of an aeroplane or motor car (cf. fairing vbl. n.2). Also with in, and transf.
1867in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1869E. J. Reed Shipbuild. viii. 154 The ship is faired by means of ribands and cross-spalls. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 208/1 The frames..then can be faired with ease. 1922Encycl. Brit. XXX. 21/1 To reduce resistance, exposed parts may be ‘faired’. 1930Times Lit. Suppl. 30 Mar. 231/2 The perfectly faired curves. 1934Flight 25 Jan. 78 e/1 Now that we are familiar with metal monocoque fuselages..it is worth the trouble to fair the lines properly. 1959Motor 2 Sept. 97/2 Chassis members have been faired in. 1959B. G. D. Salt in Halas & Manvell Technique Film Animation 319 Movements in animation are generally ‘faired’. This means that the movement in question is smoothly blended with its neighbours, no abrupt change taking place... The term ‘to fair’ or ‘fairing’—an old craft word commonly used in the aircraft industry—is probably the most accurate available.
Hence faired ppl. a.
1933Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXVII. 77 Faired lines and a retractable landing carriage improved the cruising speed. 1963Times 15 Jan. 12/2 The faired-in headlamps. |