fair
Cross references:
1. beautiful
1. fair \'fa(*)r, 'fe(*)r\ aj [ME fager, fair fr. OE fger; akin to OHG
fagar] beautiful and perh. to Lith puoshachek>ti to decorate 1: attractive
in appearance : BEAUTIFUL 2: superficially pleasing : SPECIOUS 3a: CLEAN,
PURE 3b: CLEAR, LEGIBLE 4a: not stormy or foul : CLOUDLESS 4b: free or
nearly free from precipitation 5: AMPLE {a ~ estate} 6a: marked by
impartiality and honesty : JUST 6b: conforming with the established rules
: ALLOWED 6c: open to legitimate pursuit or attack {~ game} 7a:
PROMISING, LIKELY 7b: favorable to a ship's course {a ~ wind} archaic 8:
free of obstacles 9: not dark : BLOND 10: ADEQUATE D, DISPASSIONATE,
OBJECTIVE mean free from favor toward either or any side. FAIR implies an
elimination of one's own feelings, prejudices, and desires so as to achieve
a proper balance of conflicting interests; JUST implies an exact following
of a standard of what is right and proper; EQUITABLE, less rigid than JUST,
implies equal treatment of all concerned; IMPARTIAL stresses an absence of
favor or prejudice in making a judgement; UNBIASED implies even more
strongly an absence of all prejudice or prepossession; DISPASSIONATE
suggests freedom from the influence of strong feeling and often implies
coolness or even coldness in judgment; OBJECTIVE stresses a tendency to
view events or persons as apart from oneself and one's own interest,
opinion, likes, or dislikes - fair.ness n SYN syn FAIR, JUST, EQUITABLE,
IMPARTIAL, UNBIASE
2. fair n obs 1: FAIRNESS, BEAUTY 2: something that is fair or fortunate
archaic 3: WOMAN; esp : SWEETHEART
3. fair av : FAIRLY
4. fair vi of the weather : CLEAR to join so that the external surfaces
blend smoothly
5. fair n [ME feire, fr. OF, fr. ML feria weekday, fair, fr. LL, festal
day,]fr. L feriae (pl.) holidays - more at FEAST 1: a gathering of buyers
and sellers at a particular place and time for tra de 2: a competitive
exhibition (as of farm products) 3: a sale of a collection of articles
usu. for a charitable purpose