fair
part of speech
noun (a fair, fairs); adjective (fair, fairer, fairest); adverb (fair — play fair)
meaning for a pupil
1) Fair means equal and right for everyone, following the rules. tree →
2) A fair is a big outdoor event with rides, games, animals and food. tree →
3) Fair hair or skin is light in colour. tree →
4) Fair weather is fine and dry. tree →
5) Fair can mean quite good but not great. tree →
6) Fair can also mean beautiful, used in old stories and poems. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Usually means beautiful or good-looking, not just fair in justice. In the Song of Songs it is a loving word for a beloved person. Interpretation: Tradition reads the Song of Songs as a picture of the love between God and Israel, so "my fair one" is Israel. In the primary lessons: maths: a story setting with tickets and rides; or «fair share», meaning equal parts (divide equally); a fair test in science changes only one thing; a fair coin or dice gives each side the same chance; school: book fair, science fair; everyday life: play fair, take turns; phrases: «that's not fair», «fair and square»
examples
- And Joseph was of beautiful form, and fair to look upon. (Torah GEN.39.6, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Leah's eyes were weak; but Rachel was of beautiful form and fair to look upon. (Torah GEN.29.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives, whomsoever they chose. (Torah GEN.6.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Writings SNG.2.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- 'Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? (Writings SNG.6.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! (Writings SNG.7.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- Tickets to the fair cost $6. tree →
- He rode 4 rides at the fair. tree →
- Is it fair if Tom gets 5 and Ann gets 3? tree →
- They split the candy in a fair way. tree →
- We had a fair test for our plants. tree →
- She has fair hair and blue eyes. tree →
- Our class went to the book fair. tree →
- Play fair and take turns. tree →
- "Hail, fair maiden!" says the hunter. tree →
note
As an event: numbers are tickets and costs. As «fair share»: divide equally. Trap: none special. Homophone: «fare», the price of a bus or train ticket.
In the corpora
- that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives, whomsoever they chose.
- And Leah's eyes were weak; but Rachel was of beautiful form and fair to look upon.
- And Joseph was of beautiful form, and fair to look upon.
- In vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.
- Egypt is a very fair heifer; but the gadfly out of the north is come, it is come.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «fair» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.