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fair²

(fâr)

1. A gathering for the buying and selling of goods, often held at a particular time and place; a market: We attended the annual book fair.

2. An exhibition of home or farm products and skills, usually with competitions and entertainments: My pumpkin won first prize at the county 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 the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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