Word of the Day ·

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fairing

fair·ing

US/ˈfɛɹɪŋ/UK/ˈfɛəɹɪŋ/

noun

What it means

  1. archaicA gift or other souvenir bought at a fair.First known use 16th c.

    She told me she was on her way to the fair in Bolzano and assumed I was going there too. Should we meet there, I must buy her a fairing [translating Jahrmarkt].

    1962, JW Goethe, translated by WH Auden and Elizabeth Mayer, Italian Journey, Penguin, published 1970, page 28
  2. archaicA present, especially given by a lover.First known use 16th c.
  3. IrelandScotlandarchaicSomething that is deserved; one's deserts.First known use 18th c.

In a sentence

She told me she was on her way to the fair in Bolzano and assumed I was going there too. Should we meet there, I must buy her a fairing [translating Jahrmarkt].

1962, JW Goethe, translated by WH Auden and Elizabeth Mayer, Italian Journey, Penguin, published 1970, page 28

Where it comes from

From fair (“community gathering, market”). In the sense of food, because cakes and sweets were sold at fairs.

First known use: 16th c.

Full entry for fairing →

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