faith

• feith, feithe, fayth, faythe, faithe (all obsolete)

From Middle English faith, fayth, feith, feyth (also fay, fey, fei ("faith"); > English fay (“faith”)), borrowed from Old French fay, fey, fei, feit, feid (“faith”), from Latin fidēs (faith, belief, trust; whence also English fidelity), from fīdō (“trust, confide in”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰidʰ-, zero-grade of *bʰeydʰ- ("to command, persuade, trust"; whence also English bide).

Old French had [θ] as a final devoiced allophone of /ð/ from lenited Latin /d/; this eventually fell silent in the 12th century. The -th of the Middle English forms is most straightforwardly accounted for as a direct borrowing of a French [θ]. However, it has also been seen as arising from alteration of a French form with -d under influence of English abstract nouns in the suffix -th (e.g. truth, ruth, health, etc.), or as a recharacterisation of a French form like fay, fey, fei with the same suffix, thus making the word equivalent to fay +‎ -th.

• IPA^(key): /feɪθ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪθ

faith (countable and uncountable, plural faiths)

1. The process of forming or understanding abstractions, ideas, or beliefs, without empirical evidence, experience or observation.

   I have faith that my prayers will be answered.

   I have faith in the healing power of crystals.

2. A religious belief system.

   The Christian faith.

3. An obligation of loyalty or fidelity and the observance of such an obligation.

   He acted in good faith to restore broken diplomatic ties after defeating the incumbent.

4. A trust or confidence in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or ideal.

   I have faith in the goodness of my fellow man.

   You need to have faith in yourself, that you can overcome your shortcomings and become a good person.

5. (obsolete) Credibility or truth.
   • Mitford

     the faith of the foregoing narrative

For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:faith.

• (knowing, without direct observation, based on indirect evidence and experience, that something is true, real, or will happen): belief, confidence, trust, conviction
• (system of religious belief): religion

• (religious belief system): Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Bahá'í Faith, Wicca, Eckankar, Raëlism, Zoroastrianism, New Age, Unitarian Universalism, Jainism, Shinto, LaVeyan Satanism, Scientology, Taoism, Yoruba, Druidry, paganism, Juche, Cao Dai, Confucianism, Spiritism, humanism, Rastafarianism, Tenrikyo

• faith in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• faith in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

• hatif