bias

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An unfair preference for or against a person, group, or idea.

   The report showed a clear bias against younger candidates.

2. 2
   verb

   To unfairly influence someone's opinion or judgment.

   You are biasing my choice by telling me which one you picked.

c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570). From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century. The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”).

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