fair

A2 Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /ˈfɜː/ UK /ˈfɛə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

fare /ˈfeː/

Freq #829

Meanings

1

adj
Treating everyone equally and according to the rules.

The teacher tried to be fair to all the students.
2

adj
Quite good but not very good; reasonable.

She has a fair chance of winning the prize.
3

adj
(of hair or skin) Light or pale in color.

The child had fair hair and a pale complexion.
4

noun
A public event with rides, games, and things to buy, often outdoors.

We had so much fun at the county fair.
5

adj
(of weather) Clear and pleasant, without rain.

Today will be fair and warm.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · treating everyone equally... reasonable

2 adj · quite good but not very... fairish reasonable

3 adj · (of hair or skin) light or... fairish

Word family

Forms fairedfairerfairestfairingfairs

Derived forms culture-fairfair-builtfair-hairedfair-headedfair-maid-of-francefair-manneredfair-mindedfair-sizedfair-skinnedfair-spokenfair-to-middlin'fair-to-middling

Etymology

From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with Scots fayr, fare (“fair”), Danish feir, faver, fager (“fair, pretty”), Norwegian fager (“fair, pretty”), Swedish fager (“fair, pretty”), Icelandic fagur (“beautiful, fair”), Umbrian pacer (“gracious, merciful, kind”), Slovak pekný (“good-looking, handsome, nice”). See also peace.

fayr Middle English fæġer Old English *fagr Proto-West Germanic *fagraz Proto-Germanic *peh₂ḱ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

External links

# fair

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈfɜː/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɛə/
**Frequency rank:** 829

## Meanings
1. Treating everyone equally and according to the rules.
2. Quite good but not very good; reasonable.
3. (of hair or skin) Light or pale in color.
4. A public event with rides, games, and things to buy, often outdoors.
5. (of weather) Clear and pleasant, without rain.

## Examples
- The teacher tried to be fair to all the students.
- She has a fair chance of winning the prize.
- The child had fair hair and a pale complexion.
- We had so much fun at the county fair.
- Today will be fair and warm.

## Derived Forms
- culture-fair
- fair-built
- fair-haired
- fair-headed
- fair-maid-of-france
- fair-mannered
- fair-minded
- fair-sized
- fair-skinned
- fair-spoken
- fair-to-middlin'
- fair-to-middling

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fayr
- Root: fæġer
- Root: *fagr
- Root: *fagraz
- Root: *peh₂ḱ-

## Etymology
From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with Scots fayr, fare (“fair”), Danish feir, faver, fager (“fair, pretty”), Norwegian fager (“fair, pretty”), Swedish fager (“fair, pretty”), Icelandic fagur (“beautiful, fair”), Umbrian pacer (“gracious, merciful, kind”), Slovak pekný (“good-looking, handsome, nice”). See also peace.

## AI Etymology
Fair comes from Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with Scots fayr, fare (“fair”), Danish feir, faver, fager (“fair, pretty”), Norwegian fager (“fair, pretty”), Swedish fager (“fair, pretty”), Icelandic fagur (“beautiful, fair”), Umbrian pacer (“gracious, merciful, kind”), Slovak pekný (“good-looking, handsome, nice”). See also peace. In current use, the main senses are “Treating everyone equally and according to the rules” and “Quite good but not very good; reasonable”.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment

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