bias

bias · noun, verb, adjective, adverb¹

1. Vulgar Latin · derived from*biaxius“with two axes”
2. Old Occitan · derived frombiais
3. Middle French · borrowed frombiais
4. English todaybias

c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570). From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century. The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”).

Bias · proper noun²

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΒίας
2. English todayBias

From Ancient Greek Βίας (Bías).

First known use, by meaning

• from 1560s In the games of crown green bowls and lawn bowls: a weight added to one side of a bowl so that as it rolls, it will follow a curved rather than a straight path; the oblique line followed by such a bowl; the lopsided shape or structure of such a bowl. In lawn bowls, the curved course is caused only by the shape of the bowl. The use of weights is prohibited.