fayre meaning (archaic): definition, etymology and quotations

fayre

adj

UK /fɛə(ɹ)/

Etymology From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer.

Archaic Fair, beautiful.

'Nay, I wyll nat so,' seyde sir Trystrames, 'for here is none that woll gyff ryghtuous jugemente. But I doute nat,' seyde sir Trystrames, 'my lady is fayrer than youres, and that woll I make good with my hondys, and who that woll sey the contrary, I woll preve hit on his hede!'15th century, Thomas Malory, Tale of Sir Tristram; published in Thomas Malory, Eugène Vinaver, editor, Malory: Works, London: Oxford University Press, 1971, OCLC 432570779, page 259
Now fayre, fayrest off every fayre.1503, Kenneth Elliott, editor, Now Fayre, Fayrest off every Fayre: For Three Voices: Welcome Song for Margaret Tudor on her Marriage to James IV of Scotland (music score), Glasgow: Musica Scotica Trust, published 2003, →ISBN, front cover:

4 more examples

But that which I prize and eſteeme most is, That I have conquer'd in ſingle combat, that ſo famous Knight Don-Quixote de la Mancha, and made him confeſſe that my Caſildea is fayrer then his Dulcinea, […]1652, [Miguel de Cervantes], translated by Thomas Shelton, The History of the Valorous and VVitty-knight-errant, Don-Quixote, of the Mancha. Translated out of the Spanish; now Newly Corrected and Amended, London: Printed for Richard Hodgkinsonne, for Andrew Crooke, →OCLC, page 160:
He comming home at undertime, there found / The fayreſt creature that he ever ſaw / Sitting beſide his mother on the ground; […]1758, Edmund Spenser, edited by John Upton, Spenser's Faerie Queene. A New Edition with a Glossary, and Notes Explanatory and Critical [...] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson in the Strand, →OCLC, book III, canto VII, stanza XIII, page 436:
But, more than alle, her youthful hearte / Was fraughte with virtue's lore; / More fayre, more tender, and more true, / Was mayden ne'er before.1784, Thomas Evans, “The Lordling Peasante. In Two Parts. … Part the First.”, in Old Ballads, Historical and Narrative, with some of Modern Date; now First Collected, and Reprinted from Rare Copies and MSS. With Notes, 2nd edition, volume IV, London: Printed for T[homas] Evans, in the Strand, →OCLC, page 173:
Michael Erle, the maniac lover; or, The fayre lass of Lichfield.1856, Thomas Egerton Wilks, Michael Erle, the Maniac Lover; or, The Fayre Lass of Lichfield. A Romantic Original Drama. In Two Acts. [Spencer's Boston Theatre; vol. 4, no. 26], Boston, Mass.: W.V. Spencer, →OCLC, front cover:

fayre

noun

Etymology From Old French foire, from Latin fēriae.

Dated A fair, a market.

WHERE AS before this tyme dyverse Actis of Parliament have byn made by the Kyngis most noble pgenitours agaynst forstallers and regratours of vytaile and other marchaundisez in markettis and fayres within this Realme of Englonde, […] Be it therfore enactid by auctorite of this psent parliament that noo maner of pson or psones of what estate degree or condicion he or they be, other then suche pson or psones as nowe be or herafter shalbe marchaunt venterers to Iselande, for the seid fysshe, […] shall bye any of the kindes of the seid fysshe at or [apon] the stone or at the seyd easte see syde or easte see costis, to sell the same fysshe agayn or any parte therof at any of the seid fayre or fayres callid Sturbrigge feyre Sancte Ives or Elye fayre; […]1533–1534, An Acte agaynst Forstallying & Regratying of Fyshe (25 Henry VIII, chapter 4); reprinted in The Statutes of the Realm: Printed by Command of His Majesty King George the Third, in Pursuance of an Address of the House of Commons of Great Britain. From Original Records and Authentic Manuscripts, volume III, [London]: Printed by George Eyre and Andrew Strahan, 1817, OCLC 758689339, page 440
The market or fayre of Usurers.1550, William Harrys, The Market or Fayre of Usurers: A Newe Pasquillus or Dialogue agaynst Usurye, howe and where it is Forbidden, & what Punyshement Belongeth vnto it, & whether (for ye Mayntenau[n]ce of the Necessary Trades of Marchaundise) it maye be Forborne, and ought to be Punyshed or not …, London: Imprinted in London by Steven Mierdman, →OCLC, front cover:

4 more examples

THE FAYRE PROCLAIMED. / O Yes, come all who doe intend to buy / Good Penniworths; do you want Treachery, / Schisme, Sedition, Votes, both pro and con, / Doe you want Bane, to kill a Nation: / Doe you want Orders, Questions, Proclamations, / Covenants, Contracts, Compacts, Protestations, / Here you may furnisht be, with fires of ayre, / O yes, come all then, unto White-Hall Fayre.1643, [John Barkstead] (attributed), White-hall Fayre; or, who Buyes Good Penniworths of Barkstead, [London]: Printed for A.P., →OCLC, page 1:
Stebbing Elizabethan fayre: The fourth great Elizabethan fayre to be held in the village and church of Stebbing.[1979?], Stebbing Society, Stebbing Elizabethan Fayre: The Fourth Great Elizabethan Fayre to be Held in the Village and Church of Stebbing, [Stebbing, Essex]: [s.n.], →OCLC, front cover:
Funbury community centre is planning to hold a large summer fayre and wants to develop partnerships with organisations that can help to make the day a success. It also wants to achieve the overall aims of the centre, which are to provide for the needs of the community.1999, Rob Saipe, Working in Sport and Recreation: A Practical Approach, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd, →ISBN, page 83:
Freshers' fayre takes place during the first few days and is usually found in one of the central campus buildings where the students' union has its home. This involves stalls of all the university clubs and societies that you can wander around at your leisure. There tends to be a diverse number of clubs […]. Representatives from companies such as banks, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs also attend these first few days.2011, Adrian Blundell with Richard Harrison and Benjamin W. Turney, Essential Guide to Becoming a Doctor, 3rd edition, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, page 99:

Dated Fare.

A book of ye olde English fayre.1881, Melbourne Town Hall, A Book of ye Olde English Fayre, Melbourne: Fergusson & Moore, →OCLC, front cover:
A typical fayre [for the England national rugby union team] at lunchtime would include curry or carbonara, soybeans, sweet potatoes, lentils, apples, oranges, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole wheat bread and fresh vegetables, while the evening meal could include cottage pie, steak, chicken and more steamed vegetables.2015 September 4, Gavin Mairs, “Rugby World Cup 2015: Tom Wood reveals England's brutal dieting programme [print version: Brutal training is food for thought, says Wood, 5 September 2015, page 4]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sports), London, archived from the original on 05 Sep 2015: