1 [fair]
adjective, fairer, fairest.
moderately large; ample: a fair income.
without irregularity or unevenness: a fair surface.
easy to read; clear: fair handwriting.
of a light hue; not dark: fair skin.
pleasing in appearance; attractive: a fair young maiden.
courteous; civil: fair words.
Dialect. scarcely; barely: It was just fair daylight when we started working.
adverb, fairer, fairest.
in a fair manner: He doesn't play fair.
favorably; auspiciously.
British, Australian. entirely; completely; quite: It happened so quickly that it fair took my breath away.
Archaic. something that is fair.
a woman.
a beloved woman.
verb (used with object)
Obsolete. to make fair.
Verb phrases
fair off/up, South Midland and Southern U.S. (of the weather) to clear: It's supposed to fair off toward evening.
fair and square,
fair to middling, Informal. only tolerably good; so-so.

before 900; Middle English; Old English fæger; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German fagar, Old Norse fagr, Gothic fagrs

fairness, noun

1. Fair, impartial, disinterested, unprejudiced refer to lack of bias in opinions, judgments, etc. Fair implies the treating of all sides alike, justly and equitably: a fair compromise. Impartial like fair implies showing no more favor to one side than another, but suggests particularly a judicial consideration of a case: an impartial judge. Disinterested implies a fairness arising particularly from lack of desire to obtain a selfish advantage: The motives of her guardian were entirely disinterested. Unprejudiced means not influenced or swayed by bias, or by prejudice caused by irrelevant considerations: an unprejudiced decision. 4. passable, tolerable, average, middling. 8. open, clear, unencumbered. 10. clean, spotless, pure, untarnished, unsullied, unstained. 11. legible, distinct. 12. blond, pale. 13. pretty, comely, lovely. 15. polite, gracious.
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World English Dictionary
fair1 (fɛə)
1.  free from discrimination, dishonesty, etc; just; impartial
2.  in conformity with rules or standards; legitimate: a fair fight
3.  (of the hair or complexion) light in colour
4.  beautiful or lovely to look at
5.  moderately or quite good: a fair piece of work
6.  unblemished; untainted
7.  (of the tide or wind) favourable to the passage of a vessel
8.  sunny, fine, or cloudless
9.  informal (prenominal) thorough; real: a fair battle to get to the counter
10.  pleasant or courteous
11.  apparently good or valuable, but really false: fair words
12.  open or unobstructed: a fair passage
13.  (Austral) (of handwriting) clear and legible
14.  informal a fair crack of the whip, a fair shake of the dice, a fair go a fair opportunity; fair chance
15.  fair and square in a correct or just way
16.  fair do's
 a.  equal shares or treatment
 b.  an expression of appeal for equal shares or treatment
17.  fair enough! an expression of agreement
18.  informal (Austral), (NZ) fair go! come off it!; I don't believe it!
19.  fair to middling about average
20.  in a fair way; correctly: act fair, now!
21.  absolutely or squarely; quite: the question caught him fair off his guard
22.  dialect really or very: fair tired
23.  dialect (intr) (of the weather) to become fine and mild
24.  archaic a person or thing that is beautiful or valuable, esp a woman
[Old English fæger; related to Old Norse fagr, Old Saxon, Old High German fagar, Gothic fagrs suitable]

fair2 (fɛə)
1.  a travelling entertainment with sideshows, rides, etc, esp one that visits places at the same time each year
2.  a gathering of producers of and dealers in a given class of products to facilitate business: a book fair
3.  an event including amusements and the sale of goods, esp for a charity; bazaar
4.  a regular assembly at a specific place for the sale of goods, esp livestock
[C13: from Old French feire, from Late Latin fēria holiday, from Latin fēriae days of rest: related to festus festal]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History


early 14c., from Anglo-Fr. feyre (late 13c.), from O.Fr. feire, from V.L. *feria "holiday, market fair," from L. feriæ "religious festival, holiday" (see feast).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
  side, and then show how and why it's wrong.
The conversation runs from the latest on number theory to the fairest way to
  decide a closely contested election.
The fairest way to explain the situation would be to acknowledge that the
  evidence is mixed.
The basketball team's record is, by far, the fairest of them all.
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