Mayfairn.adj.
/ˈmeɪfɛː/, U.S. /ˈmeɪˌfɛ(ə)r/ A. n.
A fair held in May, esp. (now historical) that held annually in Brook fields near Hyde Park Corner from the 17th cent. until the late 18th cent. Now only as the proper name of a district in the West End of London, including the site of the old fairground and popularly associated with opulence and high fashion.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > large or public event > [noun] > fair > specific
Rood fair1541
Mayfairc1700
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [noun] > in Britain > London > parts of
vintrya1456
steelyard1474
tower hillc1480
city1556
Bow-bell1600
row1607
gate1723
east end1742
Mayfair1754
garden1763
warren1769
west?1789
the Borough1797
west end1807
Holy Land1821
Belgravia1848
Tyburnia1848
Mesopotamia1850
South Kensington1862
Dockland1904
South Ken1933
Fitzrovia1958
square mile1966
c1700 By Her Majesties Permission in J. Ashton Soc. Life Reign Queen Anne (1883) 198 This is to give notice..that coming into May Fair, the first Booth on the left Hand, over against Mr. Pinkemans Booth [etc.].
1701 T. D'Urfey Bath Pref. The Theme [being] as low as the Rope-dancing in May-Fair, some grossness of Expression on such a subject might possibly disgust the Ladies.
1709 Tatler 24–6 May The Crowd of the Audience are fitter for Representations at May-fair, than a Theatre-Royal.
1748 H. Walpole Let. 3 Sept. in Corr. (1941) IX. 76 A chosen committee waited on the faithful pair to the minister of Mayfair.
1754 Connoisseur (1755) No. 38. 227 Catalogue of Males and Females to be disposed of in Marriage to the Best Bidder, at Mr. Keith's Repository in May Fair.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair li. 453 Yesterday, Colonel and Mrs. Crawley entertained a select party at dinner at their house in May Fair.
1933 J. Buchan Prince of Captivity ii. i. 146 Clothes slightly astray from the conventions of Mayfair.
1952 ‘M. Cost’ Hour Awaits 78 Fanchon, lovely as a La France rose, but English as Mayfair, was also leaning from her window.
1991 Blitz Sept. 16/2 Offscreen she was driving a pink Rolls-Royce and living with a rag-trade tycoon in Mayfair.
B. adj. Characteristic of Mayfair.
rare.
ΚΠ
1953 A. Christie Pocket Full of Rye i. 8 Miss Grosvenor..wailed in a voice whose accent was noticeably less Mayfair than usual.
Compounds
C1. attributive, esp. with allusion to the opulent and fashionable character of Mayfair.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [adjective] > in Britain > London > parts of
Whitechapel1785
west end1820
Mayfair1843
Belgravian1848
Tyburnian1850
West Endian1856
West Central1857
West Endy1890
Kensingtonian1902
Mayfairish1938
South Bank1951
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present iii. ix. 252 Patent-Digester..Spinning-Mule, Mayfair Clothes-Horse: many thanks, but your Chaosships will have the goodness to excuse me!
1866 M. Mackintosh Stage Reminisc. vi. 74 So elegant and comfortable that even luxurious west-enders might have fancied themselves at home in their own May-Fair drawing-rooms.
1943 I. Brown Just Another Word 24 ‘She got terribly akimbo’..a species of Mayfair slang for what was earlier called ‘high horse’.
1957 R. W. Zandvoort Handbk. Eng. Gram. (new ed.) v. ii. 225 It's such a bore, don't you know. In the..example (which really represents ‘Mayfair’ English) the tag practically ceases to be a question.
1962 J. D. Salinger Franny & Zooey 155 He was still for a moment. Then, in an almost unintelligibly thick Mayfair accent: ‘I'd rather like a word with you, Miss Glass.’
C2.
Mayfair boy n. slang (now historical) a gentleman criminal.
ΚΠ
1940 N. Marsh Surfeit of Lampreys (1941) ii. 31 The twins were saying..that..the only thing..was for them to turn crooks and be another lot of Mayfair boys.
1967 K. Giles Death in Diamonds i. 21 He's insolent, smooth and tough, very hip in his talk. Like the Mayfair boys in the thirties.
1970 C. Drummond Stab in Back iv. 88 They 'ad a saying when we were young about ‘Mayfair Boys’, meaning gentlemen crooks.
Derivatives
ˈMayfairish adj. of the nature or character of Mayfair.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [adjective] > in Britain > London > parts of
Whitechapel1785
west end1820
Mayfair1843
Belgravian1848
Tyburnian1850
West Endian1856
West Central1857
West Endy1890
Kensingtonian1902
Mayfairish1938
South Bank1951
1938 G. Allighan Sir John Reith iv. 235 The B.B.C. organisation..is too isolated from the common people. There is a West End outlook, a Mayfairish idea of the elite, an everlasting implication of superiority.
1967 ‘M. Hunter’ Cambridgeshire Disaster vi. 40 A baby grand piano..which gave a slightly Mayfairish touch of sophistication to the otherwise Ideal Homes format.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.c1700