fair

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See also: Fair, fair-, and fáir

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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.

Adjective

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fair (comparative fairer, superlative fairest)

  2. (original sense, archaic or literary) Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
    Synonyms: beautiful, pretty, lovely
    Monday's child is fair of face.
    There was once a knight who wooed a fair young maid.
  4. Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.
    Synonyms: pure, clean, neat
    one's fair name
    After scratching out and replacing various words in the manuscript, he scribed a fair copy to send to the publisher.
    • 1605, “The order for the administration of the Lords Supper, or holy Communion”, in The Booke of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments‎[1], London: Robert Barker:
      The Table hauing at the Communion time a faire white linnen cloth vpon it, shall stand in the body of the Church, or in the Chancell, where Morning prayer and Euening prayer be appointed to be said.
    • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, London, Observation 21, “Of Moss, and several other small vegetative Substances,” p. 135,[2]
      […] I have observ’d, that putting fair Water (whether Rain-water or Pump-water, or May-dew, or Snow-water, it was almost all one) I have often observ’d, I say, that this Water would, with a little standing, tarnish and cover all about the sides of the Glass that lay under water, with a lovely green […]
  6. Light in color, pale, particularly with regard to skin tone but also referring to blond and red hair.
    Synonym: pale
    Antonym: swarthy
    She had fair hair and blue eyes.
    • 1677, Matthew Hale, The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature‎[3], page 200:
      the northern people large and fair-complexioned
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. In complexion fair, and with blue or gray eyes, he was tall as any Viking, as broad in the shoulder.
  8. Just, equitable.
    Synonyms: honest, just, equitable
    He must be given a fair trial.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
  10. Adequate, reasonable, or decent, but not excellent.
    Synonyms: OK, okay
    Their performance has been only fair.
    The patient was in a fair condition after some treatment.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
      My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
    • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC:
      The words of these songs were either without meaning, or derived from an idiom with which Watt, a very fair linguist, had no acquaintance.
  12. (nautical, of a wind) Favorable to a ship's course.
  13. Favorable, pleasant.
    The weather was fair today.
    2. Not overcast; cloudless; clear.
    a fair sky
    2. Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.
      a fair mark;  in fair sight;  a fair view
      • c. 1610?, Walter Raleigh, A Discourse of War:
        The caliphs obtained a mighty empire, which was in a fair way to have enlarged.
  15. (shipbuilding) Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
  17. (baseball) Between the baselines.
  19. (rugby, of a catch) Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.
  21. (cricket, of a ball delivered by the bowler) Not a no ball.
  23. (statistics) Of a coin or die, having equal chance of landing on any side, unbiased.
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • → German: fair
  • → Hebrew: פייר
  • → Macedonian: фер (fer)
  • → Serbo-Croatian:
Translations
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Noun

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fair (plural fair)

  1. Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).
    When will we learn to distinguish between the fair and the foul?
  2. (obsolete) A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex’; also as a collective singular, women.
  3. (obsolete) Fairness, beauty.
  4. A fair woman; a sweetheart.
  5. (obsolete) Good fortune; good luck.

Verb

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fair (third-person singular simple present fairs, present participle fairing, simple past and past participle faired)

  2. (transitive) To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).
  3. (transitive) To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members).
  4. (transitive, art) To make an animation smooth, removing any jerkiness.
    • 1996, Computer Animation '96: June 3-4, 1996, Geneva, Switzerland, page 136:
      Since the sequence of data contain sampling noises, the captured motion is not smooth and wiggles along the moving path. There are well-known fairing algorithms in Euclidean space based on difference geometry.
  5. (transitive) To construct or design with the aim of producing a smooth outline or reducing air drag or water resistance.
    • 1920, Technical Report of the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, page 206:
      Two forward cars were provided with the model. One of these (shown detached in Fig. 1) was faired at its after end, with a view to possible reduction of head resistance, and to induce a better flow of air to the propeller.
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To make fair or beautiful.
Synonyms
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  • (to reduce air drag or water resistance): to streamline
Derived terms
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Translations
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Adverb

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fair (comparative more fair or fairer, superlative most fair or fairest)

  1. Clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably.
  2. (Ireland) Almost; to a great extent but not literally.
    • 1913, James Johnston Abraham, The Night Nurse:
      "I'm fair moidered to know what to do wid him," she confessed to the rosy-cheeked Bridget one day.
    • 2011 June 1, Dorothy Mitchell, Hollybeck, Chipmunkapublishing ltd, →ISBN, page 7:
      "I just want to get me blasted boots off and soak me poor feet, they're fair killing me, what with chilblains and corns, me toes are fair screaming."
    • 2011 September 5, Mary Hooper, Velvet, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 67:
      "We were at Egyptian Hall last night and the poor lady was overwhelmed with messages - they fair exhausted her."
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English feyre, from Old French foire, from Latin fēriae.

Noun

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fair (plural fairs)

  2. A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.
  3. An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.
  4. An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.
  5. A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

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Anagrams

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /fɛːr/
  • Hyphenation: fair

Etymology 1

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Borrowed from English fair, from Middle English fayr, from Old English fæġer, from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz.

Adjective

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fair (comparative fairer, superlative fairst)

  1. (colloquial, affected) fair (just, honest, equitable, adequate)
Declension
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Declension of fair
uninflected fair
inflected faire
comparative fairder
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial fair fairder het fairst
het fairste
indefinite m./f. sing. faire fairdere fairste
n. sing. fair fairder fairste
plural faire fairdere fairste
definite faire fairdere fairste
partitive fairs fairders —

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from English fair, from Middle English feyre, from Old French foire, from Latin fēriae.

Noun

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fair m (plural fairs)

  1. a fair (social event, type of market)
    Synonyms: braderie, jaarmarkt
  2. (rare) a funfair, carnival
    Synonyms: foor, kermis
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German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English fair, from Old English fæġer, from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz, whence also Middle High German vager (“splendid, wonderful”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /fɛːr/, [fɛːɐ̯], [feːɐ̯], [fɛɐ̯]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: fair

Adjective

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fair (strong nominative masculine singular fairer, comparative fairer, superlative am fairsten)

  1. (especially sports) fair (just, honest, equitable, adequate)
    Synonyms: anständig, ehrlich, gerecht, gleich, ausgeglichen, angemessen, sauber
    Antonym: unfair
    ein faires Spiel ― an honest game, a fairly played game
    Unsere einzige Möglichkeit, fair zu sein, besteht darin, alle gleich schlecht zu behandeln.
    The only way we can be fair is by treating everybody equally badly.

Declension

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Positive forms of fair
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist fair sie ist fair es ist fair sie sind fair
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative fairer faire faires faire
genitive fairen fairer fairen fairer
dative fairem fairer fairem fairen
accusative fairen faire faires faire
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der faire die faire das faire die fairen
genitive des fairen der fairen des fairen der fairen
dative dem fairen der fairen dem fairen den fairen
accusative den fairen die faire das faire die fairen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein fairer eine faire ein faires (keine) fairen
genitive eines fairen einer fairen eines fairen (keiner) fairen
dative einem fairen einer fairen einem fairen (keinen) fairen
accusative einen fairen eine faire ein faires (keine) fairen
Comparative forms of fair
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist fairer sie ist fairer es ist fairer sie sind fairer
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative fairerer fairere faireres fairere
genitive faireren fairerer faireren fairerer
dative fairerem fairerer fairerem faireren
accusative faireren fairere faireres fairere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der fairere die fairere das fairere die faireren
genitive des faireren der faireren des faireren der faireren
dative dem faireren der faireren dem faireren den faireren
accusative den faireren die fairere das fairere die faireren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein fairerer eine fairere ein faireres (keine) faireren
genitive eines faireren einer faireren eines faireren (keiner) faireren
dative einem faireren einer faireren einem faireren (keinen) faireren
accusative einen faireren eine fairere ein faireres (keine) faireren
Superlative forms of fair
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am fairsten sie ist am fairsten es ist am fairsten sie sind am fairsten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative fairster fairste fairstes fairste
genitive fairsten fairster fairsten fairster
dative fairstem fairster fairstem fairsten
accusative fairsten fairste fairstes fairste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der fairste die fairste das fairste die fairsten
genitive des fairsten der fairsten des fairsten der fairsten
dative dem fairsten der fairsten dem fairsten den fairsten
accusative den fairsten die fairste das fairste die fairsten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein fairster eine fairste ein fairstes (keine) fairsten
genitive eines fairsten einer fairsten eines fairsten (keiner) fairsten
dative einem fairsten einer fairsten einem fairsten (keinen) fairsten
accusative einen fairsten eine fairste ein fairstes (keine) fairsten

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “fair” in Duden online
  • “fair” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Haitian Creole

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Etymology

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From French faire.

Verb

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fair

  1. (Saint-Domingue) to do
    Ly doi fair nion l'autre quichoy avant cila là. ― He should do another thing before that one.

Descendants

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  • Haitian Creole: fè

References

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  • S.J Ducoeurjoly, Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue, contenant un précis de l'histoire de cette île

Hungarian

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Etymology

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From English fair.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈfɛr], [ˈfɛːr]
  • Hyphenation: fair
  • Rhymes: -ɛr

Adjective

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fair (comparative fairebb, superlative legfairebb)

  1. fair (just, equitable)
    Synonyms: méltányos, tisztességes, becsületes, igazságos, korrekt, sportszerű

Declension

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Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
singular plural
nominative fair fairek
accusative fairt faireket
dative fairnek faireknek
instrumental fairrel fairekkel
causal-final fairért fairekért
translative fairré fairekké
terminative fairig fairekig
essive-formal fairként fairekként
essive-modal fairül —
inessive fairben fairekben
superessive fairen faireken
adessive fairnél faireknél
illative fairbe fairekbe
sublative fairre fairekre
allative fairhez fairekhez
elative fairből fairekből
delative fairről fairekről
ablative fairtől fairektől
non-attributive
possessive - singular 		fairé faireké
non-attributive
possessive - plural 		fairéi fairekéi

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • fair in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
  • fair in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Irish

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Etymology

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See aire (“watching, attention”)

Pronunciation

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Verb

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fair (present analytic faireann, future analytic fairfidh, verbal noun faire, past participle fairthe)

  1. to watch

Conjugation

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conjugation of fair (first conjugation – A)
singular plural relative autonomous
first second third first second third
indicative present fairim faireann tú;
fairir† 		faireann sé, sí fairimid faireann sibh faireann siad;
fairid† 		a fhaireann; a fhaireas /
a bhfaireann* 		fairtear
past d'fhair mé; d'fhaireas /
fhair mé‡; fhaireas‡ 		d'fhair tú; d'fhairis /
fhair tú; fhairis‡ 		d'fhair sé, sí /
fhair sé, sí‡ 		d'fhaireamar; d'fhair muid /
fhaireamar; fhair muid‡ 		d'fhair sibh; d'fhaireabhair /
fhair sibh;
fhaireabhair‡ 		d'fhair siad; d'fhaireadar /
fhair siad; fhaireadar‡ 		a d'fhair /
ar fhair* 		faireadh
past habitual d'fhairinn /
fhairinn‡; bhfairinn‡‡ 		d'fhairteá /
fhairteá‡; bhfairteᇇ 		d'fhaireadh sé, sí /
fhaireadh sé, sí‡; bhfaireadh sé, s퇇 		d'fhairimis; d'fhaireadh muid /
fhairimis; fhaireadh muid‡; bhfairimis‡‡; bhfaireadh muid‡‡ 		d'fhaireadh sibh /
fhaireadh sibh‡; bhfaireadh sibh‡‡ 		d'fhairidís; d'fhaireadh siad /
fhairidís; fhaireadh siad‡; bhfairidís‡‡; bhfaireadh siad‡‡ 		a d'fhaireadh /
a bhfaireadh* 		d'fhairtí /
fhairtí‡; bhfairt퇇
future fairfidh mé;
fairfead 		fairfidh tú;
fairfir† 		fairfidh sé, sí fairfimid;
fairfidh muid 		fairfidh sibh fairfidh siad;
fairfid† 		a fhairfidh; a fhairfeas /
a bhfairfidh* 		fairfear
conditional d'fhairfinn / fhairfinn‡; bhfairfinn‡‡ d'fhairfeá / fhairfeá‡; bhfairfeᇇ d'fhairfeadh sé, sí / fhairfeadh sé, sí‡; bhfairfeadh sé, s퇇 d'fhairfimis; d'fhairfeadh muid / fhairfimis‡; fhairfeadh muid‡; bhfairfimis‡‡; bhfairfeadh muid‡‡ d'fhairfeadh sibh / fhairfeadh sibh‡; bhfairfeadh sibh‡‡ d'fhairfidís; d'fhairfeadh siad / fhairfidís‡; fhairfeadh siad‡; bhfairfidís‡‡; bhfairfeadh siad‡‡ a d'fhairfeadh /
a bhfairfeadh* 		d'fhairfí / fhairfí‡; bhfairf퇇
subjunctive present go bhfaire mé;
go bhfairead† 		go bhfaire tú;
go bhfairir† 		go bhfaire sé, sí go bhfairimid;
go bhfaire muid 		go bhfaire sibh go bhfaire siad;
go bhfairid† 		— go bhfairtear
past dá bhfairinn dá bhfairteá dá bhfaireadh sé, sí dá bhfairimis;
dá bhfaireadh muid 		dá bhfaireadh sibh dá bhfairidís;
dá bhfaireadh siad 		— dá bhfairtí
imperative fairim fair faireadh sé, sí fairimis fairigí;
fairidh† 		fairidís — fairtear
verbal noun faire
past participle fairthe

* indirect relative
† archaic or dialect form
‡ dependent form
‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

Mutation

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Mutated forms of fair
radical lenition eclipsis
fair fhair bhfair

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Old Irish

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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fair

  1. third-person singular masculine/neuter accusative of for

Polish

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English fair.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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fair (not comparable, no derived adverb)

  1. fair (just, equitable)
    Synonym: uczciwy

Declension

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Indeclinable.

Adverb

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fair (not comparable)

  1. fairly (in a fair manner)
    Synonym: uczciwie
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noun

Further reading

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  • fair in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • fair in Polish dictionaries at PWN
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