Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BI'AS, n. [Arm. bihays or vies; Fr. biais, a slope; biaiser, to use shifts, evasions or tricks.]

1. A weight on the side of a bowl which turns it from a straight line.
2. A leaning of the mind; inclination; prepossession; propensity toward an object, not leaving the mind indifferent; as, education gives a bias to the mind.
3. That which causes the mind to lean or incline from a state of indifference, to a particular object or course.