fairness


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fair 1

 (fâr)
adj. fair·er, fair·est
1. Of pleasing appearance, especially because of a pure or fresh quality; comely.
2.
a. Light in color, especially blond: fair hair.
b. Of light complexion: fair skin.
3. Free of clouds or storms; clear and sunny: fair skies.
4. Free of blemishes or stains; clean and pure: one's fair name.
5. Promising; likely: We're in a fair way to succeed.
6.
a. Having or exhibiting a disposition that is free of favoritism or bias; impartial: a fair mediator.
b. Just to all parties; equitable: a compromise that is fair to both factions.
7. Being in accordance with relative merit or significance: She wanted to receive her fair share of the proceeds.
8. Consistent with rules, logic, or ethics: a fair tactic.
9. Moderately good; acceptable or satisfactory: gave only a fair performance of the play; in fair health.
10. Superficially true or appealing; specious: Don't trust his fair promises.
11. Lawful to hunt or attack: fair game.
12. Archaic Free of all obstacles.
adv.
1. In a proper or legal manner: playing fair.
2. Directly; straight: a blow caught fair in the stomach.
tr.v. faired, fair·ing, fairs
To join (pieces) so as to be smooth, even, or regular: faired the aircraft's wing into the fuselage.
n.
1. Archaic A beautiful or beloved woman.
2. Obsolete Loveliness; beauty.
Phrasal Verb:
fair off (or up)
Chiefly Southern US To become clear. Used of weather.
Idioms:
fair and square
Just and honest.
for fair
To the greatest or fullest extent possible: Our team was beaten for fair in that tournament.
no fair
Something contrary to the rules: That was no fair.

[Middle English, from Old English fæger, lovely, pleasant.]

fair′ness n.
Synonyms: fair1, just1, equitable, impartial, unprejudiced, unbiased, objective
These adjectives mean free from favoritism, self-interest, or preference in judgment. Fair is the most general: a fair referee; a fair deal. Just stresses conformity with what is legally or ethically right or proper: "a just and lasting peace" (Abraham Lincoln).
Equitable implies justice dictated by reason, conscience, and a natural sense of what is fair: an equitable distribution of gifts among the children. Impartial emphasizes lack of favoritism: "the cold neutrality of an impartial judge" (Edmund Burke).
Unprejudiced means without preconceived opinions or judgments: an unprejudiced evaluation of the proposal. Unbiased implies absence of a preference or partiality: gave an unbiased account of her family problems. Objective implies detachment that permits impersonal observation and judgment: an objective jury. See Also Synonyms at average, beautiful.
Our Living Language American folk speech puts Standard English to shame in its wealth of words for describing weather conditions. When the weather goes from fair to cloudy, New Englanders say that it's "breedin' up a storm" (Maine informant in the Linguistic Atlas of New England). If the weather is clear, however, a New Englander might call it open. Southern fair off and fair up, meaning "to become clear," were originally Northeastern terms and were brought to the South as settlement expanded southward and westward. They are now "regionalized to the South," according to Craig M. Carver, author of American Regional Dialects. These phrases may have prompted the coining of milding and milding down, noted respectively in Texas and Virginia by the Dictionary of American Regional English.

fair 2

 (fâr)
n.
1. A gathering held at a specified time and place for the buying and selling of goods; a market.
2. An exhibition, as of farm products or manufactured goods, usually accompanied by various competitions and entertainments: a state fair.
3. An exhibition intended to inform people about a product or business opportunity: a computer fair; a job fair.
4. An event, usually for the benefit of a charity or public institution, including entertainment and the sale of goods; a bazaar: a church fair.

[Middle English faire, from Old French feire, from Late Latin fēria, sing. of Latin fēriae, holidays; see dhēs- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Fairness

 

a cat may look at a king Even an inferior has certain rights in the presence of a superior. This proverb, which dates from 1562, was used by Robert Greene in Never Too Late (1590):

A cat may look at a King, and a swain’s eye has as high a reach as a lord’s look.

even break An equal or fair chance; no advantage or handicap; as much or little chance as the next person. Of American origin, this colloquial expression may derive from the custom whereby opponents break a stick to determine who will have the advantage in a given situation. The long end is the preferable portion; the short goes to the loser. However, if the break is even, neither party has an advantage—each party has an equal chance. Even break dates from the early part of this century.

The chances in the “quartermile” seem to give the Americans only an even break for a first place. (Daily Express, July 11, 1928)

every dog has his day Just as “the meek shall inherit the earth,” everyone will come into a period of power or influence. This proverbial expression dates from the time of the Greek poet Pindar in the 5th century B.C.

Thus every dog at last will have his day—
He who this morning smiled, at night may sorrow;
The grub today’s a butterfly tomorrow.
(Odes of Condolence)

fair shake Just, equitable, unbiased treatment; an even break. In this expression, shake refers to a throw of the dice. Unscrupulous gamblers often use shaved or loaded dice to increase their chances of winning. A fair shake implies that no cheating or other undue influence has been employed to affect a situation, and that the situation has been resolved justly.

a place in the sun See FAME.

Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1980 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.fairness - conformity with rules or standardsfairness - conformity with rules or standards; "the judge recognized the fairness of my claim"
non-discrimination - fairness in treating people without prejudice
sportsmanship - fairness in following the rules of the game
justice, justness - the quality of being just or fair
inequity, unfairness - injustice by virtue of not conforming with rules or standards
2.fairness - ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty
impartiality, nonpartisanship - an inclination to weigh both views or opinions equally
unfairness - partiality that is not fair or equitable
3.fairness - the property of having a naturally light complexionfairness - the property of having a naturally light complexion
complexion, skin color, skin colour - the coloring of a person's face
4.fairness - the quality of being good looking and attractivefairness - the quality of being good looking and attractive
beauty - the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

fairness

noun impartiality, justice, equity, legitimacy, decency, disinterestedness, uprightness, rightfulness, equitableness concern about the fairness of the election campaign
Quotations
"One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards" [Oscar Wilde An Ideal Husband]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

fairness

noun
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
spravedlivostspravedlnostsvětlost
retfærdighedrimelighedfairness
oikeudenmukaisuus
pravednost
sanngirni; ljóst yfirbragî
公正
공평함
rättvisa
ความยุติธรรม
sự công bằng

fairness

[ˈfɛənɪs] N
1. (= justice) → justicia f; (= impartiality) → imparcialidad f
in all fairness (= truth to tell) → a decir verdad, en honor a la verdad; (= to be fair) → para ser justo
in all fairness, he had to admit that she had a pointpara ser justo con ella, tenía que reconocer que llevaba algo de razón
in (all) fairness to himpara ser justo con él
2. (= paleness) [of hair, person] → lo rubio; [of complexion, skin] → blancura f
3. (liter) (= beauty) → belleza f, hermosura f
FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
La Fairness Doctrine (Doctrina de la Imparcialidad) es un principio llevado a la práctica en Estados Unidos por la Federal Communications Commission o FCC por el que, cuando se trata de noticias importantes de carácter local o nacional, la radio y la televisión deben ofrecer los distintos puntos de vista de forma equilibrada. Este principio, establecido por la FCC en 1949 con el apoyo del Congreso, no tiene carácter de ley y cuenta entre sus atribuciones con el control equitativo del tiempo en los espacios electorales dedicados a cada uno de los líderes políticos en campaña. También se utilizó en 1967 en la lucha antitabaco, cuando la FCC estableció que los fabricantes debían dejar claro en sus anuncios los peligros del tabaco, aunque hoy día la Fairness Doctrine ya ha dejado prácticamente de tener influencia en publicidad.
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fairness

[ˈfɛərnɪs] n (= justness) [decision, trial, verdict] → équité f; [competition, contest] → impartialité f; [treatment] → équité f; [person] → sens m de la justice
in fairness, in all fairness → en toute justiceFairness Doctrine n (US)principe m de l'impartialitéfair play nfair-play m invfair sex fairer sex nbeau sexe mfair-sized [ˌfɛərˈsaɪzd] adjassez grand(e)fair-skinned [ˌfɛərˈskɪnd] adj (with pale skin)à la peau clairefairly-traded [ˌfɛərliˈtreɪdɪd] adv [product, coffee, chocolate] → issu(e) du commerce équitable, équitablefair trade
modif [product, coffee, chocolate] → issu(e) du commerce équitable, équitable
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

fairness

n
(= justice)Gerechtigkeit f, → Fairness f; in all fairnessgerechterweise, fairerweise; in (all) fairness to him we should waitwir sollten so fair sein und noch warten
(= lightness, of hair) → Blondheit f; the fairness of her skinihre Hellhäutigkeit
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

fairness

[ˈfɛənɪs] n
a.onestà, equità, giustizia; (of decision) → imparzialità
in all fairness → per essere giusti, a dire il vero
in (all) fairness to him → per essere giusti nei suoi confronti
b. (of hair, skin) → chiarezza
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

fair1

(feə) adjective
1. light-coloured; with light-coloured hair and skin. fair hair; Scandinavian people are often fair.
2. just; not favouring one side. a fair test.
3. (of weather) fine; without rain. a fair afternoon.
4. quite good; neither bad nor good. Her work is only fair.
5. quite big, long etc. a fair size.
6. beautiful. a fair maiden.
ˈfairness noun
ˈfairly adverb
1. justly; honestly. fairly judged.
2. quite or rather. The work was fairly hard.
fair play
honest treatment; an absence of cheating, biased actions etc. He's not involved in the contest – he's only here to see fair play.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

fairness

عَدْل spravedlnost retfærdighed Grechtigkeit εντιμότητα imparcialidad oikeudenmukaisuus équité pravednost imparzialità 公正 공평함 eerlijkheid rettferdighet sprawiedliwość imparcialidade справедливость rättvisa ความยุติธรรม içtenlik sự công bằng 公平
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
Yet, in fairness, we must add that they are liars, not with intent to mislead, but merely with the tenderest purpose to console.
Anyone who picked an apple gained admittance into the golden castle, and there in a silver room sat an enchanted Princess of surpassing fairness and beauty.
She suddenly thought one afternoon, when looking in the glass at her fairness, that there was yet another date, of greater importance to her than those; that of her own death, when all these charms would had disappeared; a day which lay sly and unseen among all the other days of the year, giving no sign or sound when she annually passed over it; but not the less surely there.
"And fairness, of course," he added, "for if the peasant is naked and hungry and has only one miserable horse, he can do no good either for himself or for me."
He had even supposed that she, a worn-out woman no longer young or good-looking, and in no way remarkable or interesting, merely a good mother, ought from a sense of fairness to take an indulgent view.
No one must be able to say of her when she was dead that she had not divided her money with perfect fairness among her own kin.
Justice, too, obliges the author to state that the fairness of mind and generosity attributed to St.
It is only in the latter light that it can be admitted to have any pretensions to fairness. The moment we launch into conjectures about the usurpations of the federal government, we get into an unfathomable abyss, and fairly put ourselves out of the reach of all reasoning.
It is with extreme regret we learn that he has recently been compelled to dispose of his establishment at Wappatoo Island, to the Hudson's Bay Company; who, it is but justice to say, have, according to his own account, treated him throughout the whole of his enterprise, with great fairness, friendship, and liberality.
"The King has not treated us honestly, for under the mask of fairness and good nature he entrapped us all, and we would have been forever enchanted had not our wise and clever friend, the yellow hen, found a way to save us."
At the same time, I acknowledge that you have stated the facts, on the whole, with scrupulous fairness. You have, indeed, flattered me very strongly by representing me as constantly thinking of and for other people, whereas the rest think of themselves alone, but on the other hand you have contradictorily called me "unsocial," which is certainly the last adjective I should have expected to find in the neighborhood of my name.
It had cost Adam a great deal of trouble and work in overhours to know what he knew over and above the secrets of his handicraft, and that acquaintance with mechanics and figures, and the nature of the materials he worked with, which was made easy to him by inborn inherited faculty--to get the mastery of his pen, and write a plain hand, to spell without any other mistakes than must in fairness be attributed to the unreasonable character of orthography rather than to any deficiency in the speller, and, moreover, to learn his musical notes and part-singing.

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