Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FAINT'LING, a.

Timorous; feeble-minded. [Not used.] Arbuthnot.

FAINT'LY, adv.

1. In a feeble, languid manner; without vigor or activity; as, to attack or defend faintly.
2. With a feeble flame; as, a torch burns faintly.
3. With a feeble light; as, the candle burns faintly.
4. With little force; as, to breathe faintly.
5. Without force of representation; imperfectly; as, to describe faintly what we have seen.
6. In a low tone; with a feeble voice; as, to speak faintly.
7. Without spirit or courage; timorously. He faintly now declines the fatal strife. Denham.

FAINT'NESS, n.

1. The state of being faint; loss of strength, color and respiration.
2. Feebleness; languor; want of strength. Hooker.
3. Inactivity; want of vigor. Spenser.
4. Feebleness, as of color or light.
5. Feebleness of representation; as, faintness of description.
6. Feebleness of mind; timorousness; dejection; irresolution. I will send a faintness into their hearts. Lev. xxvi.

FAINTS, n. plur.

The gross fetid oil remaining after distillation, or a weak spirituous liquor that runs from the still in rectifying the low wines after the proof spirit is drawn off; also, the last runnings of all spirits distilled by the alembic. Encyc. Edwards, W. Ind.

FAINT'Y, a.

Weak; feeble; languid. Dryden.

FAIR, a. [Sax. fæger; Sw. fager; Dan. faver. If the sense is primarily to open, to clear, to separate, this word may belong to the root of Sw. fäja, Dan. fejer, D. veegen, G. fegen, to sweep, scour, furbish.]

1. Clear; free from spots; free from a dark hue; white; as, a fair skin; a fair complexion. Hence,
2. Beautiful; handsome; properly, having a handsome face. Thou art a fair woman to look upon. Gen. xii. Hence,
3. Pleasing to the eye; handsome or beautiful in general. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches. Ezek. xxxi.
4. Clear; pure; free from feculence or extraneous matter; as, fair water.
5. Clear; not cloudy or overcast; as, fair weather; a fair sky.
6. Favorable; prosperous; blowing in a direction toward the place of destination; as, a fair wind at sea.
7. Open; direct, as a way or passage. You are in a fair way to promotion. Hence, likely to succeed. He stands as fair to succeed as any man.
8. Open to attack or access; unobstructed; as, a fair mark; a fair butt; fair in sight; in fair sight; a fair view.
9. Open; frank; honest; hence, equal; just; equitable. My friend is a fair man; his offer is fair; his propositions are fair and honorable.
10. Not effected by insidious or unlawful methods; not foul. He died a fair and natural death. Temple.
11. Frank; candid; not sophistical or insidious; as, a fair disputant.
12. Honest; honorable; mild; opposed to insidious and compulsory; as, to accomplish a thing by fair means.
13. Frank; civil; pleasing; not harsh. When fair words and good counsel will not prevail on us, we must be frighted into our duty. L'Estranage.
14. Equitable; just; merited. His doom is fair, That dust I am, and shall to dust return. Milton.
15. Liberal; not narrow; as, a fair livelihood. Carew.
16. Plain; legible; as, the letter is written in a fair hand.
17. Free from stain or blemish; unspotted; untarnished; as, a fair character or fame.

FAIR, adv.

1. Openly; frankly; civilly; complaisantly. One of the company spoke him fair. L'Estrange.
2. Candidly; honestly; equitably. He promised fair.
3. Happily; successfully. Now fair befall thee. Shak.
4. On good terms; as, to keep fair with the world; to stand fair with one's companions. To bid fair, is to be likely, or to have a fair prospect. Fair and square, just dealing; honesty.

FAIR, n. [Fr. foire; W. fair; Arm. foar, foer, feur, or for; L. forum, or feriæ. The It. fiera, and Sp. feria, a fair, are the L. feriæ, a holiday, a day exempt from labor; G. feier, whence feiern, to rest from labor. If fair is from forum, it may coincide in origin with Gr. πορευω, εμπορευομαι, to trade, whence εμποριον, emporium, the primary sense of which is to pass. In Norman French we find fair and feire. If fair is from feriæ, it is so called from being held in places where the wakes or feasts at the dedication of churches were held, or from the feasts themselves. It is a fact that Sundays were formerly market days.]

A stated market in a particular town or city; a stated meeting of buyers and sellers for trade. A fair is annual or more frequent. The privilege of holding fairs is granted by the king or supreme power. Among the most celebrated fairs in Europe are those of Francfort and Leipsic in Germany; of Novi in the Milanese; of Riga and Archangel in Russia; of Lyons and St. Germain in France. In Great Britain many towns enjoy this privilege. Encyc. In the United States, there are no fairs similar to those in England; at least I know of none. The ladies sometimes hold fairs for the sale of their work for charitable purposes.

FAIR, n.

1. Elliptically, a fair woman; a handsome female. The fair, the female sex.
2. Fairness; applied to things or persons. [Not in use.]

FAIR-HAIR-ED, a.

Having fair hair.

FAIR'HAND, a.

Having a fair appearance. Shak.

FAIR'HOOD, n.

Fairness; beauty. Fox.

FAIR'ING, n.

A present given at a fair. Gay.

FAIR'LY, adv.

1. Beautifully; handsomely. [Little used.]
2. Commodiously; conveniently; as, a town fairly situated for foreign trade.
3. Frankly; honestly; justly; equitably; without disguise, fraud or prevarication. The question was fairly stated and argued. Let us deal fairly with all men.
4. Openly; ingenuously; plainly. Let us deal fairly with ourselves or our own hearts.
5. Candidly. I interpret fairly your design. Dryden.
6. Without perversion or violence; as, an inference may be fairly deduced from the premises.
7. Without blots; in plain letters; plainly; legibly; as, an instrument or record fairly written.
8. Completely; without deficience. His antagonist fought till he was fairly defeated.
9. Softly; gently. Milton.

FAIR'NESS, n.

1. Clearness; freedom from spots or blemishes; whiteness; as, the fairness of skin or complexion.
2. Clearness; purity; as, the fairness of water.
3. Freedom from stain or blemish; as, the fairness of character or reputation.
4. Beauty; elegance; as, the fairness of form.
5. Frankness; candor; hence, honesty; ingenuousness; as, fairness in trade.
6. Openness; candor; freedom from disguise, insidiousness or prevarication; as, the fairness of an argument.
7. Equality of terms; equity; as, the fairness of a contract.
8. Distinctness; freedom from blots or obscurity; as, the fairness of hand-writing; the fairness of a copy.

FAIR-SEEM-ING, a.

Appearing fair. Hemans.

FAIR-SPOK'EN, a.

Using fair speech; bland; civil; courteous; plausible. Arius, a fair-spoken man. Hooker.

FAI'RY, a.

1. Belonging to fairies; as, fairy land. Shak.
2. Given by fairies; as, fairy money or favors. Dryden. Locke.

FAI'RY, n. [G. fee; Fr. fée, whence féer, to enchant, féerie, a fairy land; It. fata. The origin of this word is not obvious, and the radical letters are uncertain. The conjectures of Baxter, Jamieson and others throw no satisfactory light on the subject.]

1. A fay; an imaginary being or spirit, supposed to assume a human form, dance in meadows, steal infants and play a variety of pranks. [See Elf and Demon.] Locke. Pope.
2. An enchantress. Shak. Fairy of the mine, an imaginary being supposed to inhabit mines, wandering about in the drifts and chambers, always employed in cutting ore, turning the windlass, &c., yet effecting nothing. The Germans believe in two species; one fierce and malevolent, the other gentle. [See Cobalt.] Encyc. Fairy ring or circle, a phenomenon observed in fields, vulgarly supposed to be caused by fairies in their dances. This circle is of two kinds; one about seven yards in diameter, containing a round bare path, a foot broad, with green grass in the middle; the other of different size, encompassed with grass. Encyc.

FAI'RY-LAND, n.

The imaginary land or abode of fairies.

FAI'RY-LIKE, a.

Imitating the manner of fairies. Shak.

FAI'RY-STONE, n.

A stone found in gravel pits. Johnson. The fossil echinite, abundant in chalk pits. Cyc.

FAITH, n. [W. fyz; Arm. feiz; L. fides; It. fede; Port. and Sp. fe; Fr. foi; Gr. πιστις; L. fido, to trust; Gr. πειθω, to persuade, to draw toward any thing, to conciliate; πειθομαι, to believe, to obey. In the Greek Lexicon of Hederic it is said, the primitive signification of the verb is to bind and draw or lead, as πεισα signifies a rope or cable, as does πεισμα. But this remark is a little incorrect. The sense of the verb, from which that of rope and binding is derived, is to strain, to draw, and thus to bind or make fast. A rope or cable is that which makes fast. Qu. Heb. Ch. Syr. Sam. בטח. Class Bd, No. 16.]

1. Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth. I have strong faith or no faith in the testimony of a witness, or in what a historian narrates.
2. The assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another; belief, on probable evidence of any kind.
3. In theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the Scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith; a faith little distinguished from the belief of the existence and achievements of Alexander or of Cesar.
4. Evangelical, justifying or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance, and dependence on his merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony and of the truth of the Gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation. Being justified by faith. Rom. v. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb. xi. For we walk by faith, and not by sight. 2 Cor. v. With the heart man believeth to righteousness. Rom. x. The faith of the Gospel is that emotion of the mind, which is called trust or confidence, exercised toward the moral character of God, and particularly of the Savior. Dwight. Faith is an affectionate practical confidence in the testimony of God. J. Hawes. Faith is a firm, cordial belief in the veracity of God, in all the declarations of his word; or a full and affectionate confidence in the certainty of those things which God has declared, and because he has declared them. L. Woods.
5. The object of belief; a doctrine or system of doctrines believed; a system of revealed truths received by Christians. They heard only, that he who persecuted us in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. Gal. i.
6. The promises of God, or his truth and faithfulness. Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? Rom. iii.
7. An open profession of Gospel truth. Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. Rom. i.
8. A persuasion or belief of the lawfulness of things indifferent. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Rom. xiv.
9. Faithfulness; fidelity; a strict adherence to duty and fulfillment of promises. Her failing, while her faith to me remains, / I would conceal. Milton. Children in whom is no faith. Deut. xxxii.
10. Word or honor pledged; promise given; fidelity. He violated his plighted faith. For you alone / I broke my faith with injured Palamon. Dryden.
11. Sincerity; honesty; veracity; faithfulness. We ought, in good faith, to fulfill all our engagements.
12. Credibility or truth. [Unusual.] The faith of the foregoing narrative. Milford.

FAITH'BREACH, n.

Breach of fidelity; disloyalty; perfidy. Shak.

FAITH'ED, a.

Honest; sincere. [Not used.] Shak.