fayre
UK/fɛə(ɹ)/
fayre adjective: fair, beautiful.
Adjective
fayre (comparative fayrer or more fayre, superlative fayrest or most fayre)
- 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...
Noun
fayre (plural fayres)
- 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...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...
- 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...
- 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...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]”...
Examples of fayre in a sentence
- 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...
- 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...
- 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....
- 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...
Forms of fayre
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | fayrer |
| comparative | more fayre |
| superlative | fayrest |
| superlative | most fayre |
| Noun | |
| plural | fayres |
Origin of fayre
From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer.
From Old French foire, from Latin fēriae.
Words that rhyme with fayre
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- declare
- hair
- Sinclair
- where
- ayr
- care
- layer
- mayor
- parterre
- fare
- glare
- lair
- pear
- prayer
- snare
- compare
- dare
- rare
- share
- swear
- ware
- wear and tear
- Ayer
- blare
- flair
- forbear
- Kerr
- laissez faire
- mousquetaire
- pare
- prepare
- repair
- stare
- unfair
- yare
- -ware
- abear
- aflare
- despair
- glair
- heir
- impair
- Pierre
- reair
- scare
- tare
- trillionaire
- Voltaire
Questions about fayre
- What does fayre mean?
- Fayre means fair, beautiful.
- How do you use fayre in a sentence?
- He comming home at undertime, there found / The fayreſt creature that he ever ſaw / Sitting beſide his mother on the ground; […]
- What part of speech is fayre?
- Fayre can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce fayre?
- Fayre is pronounced /fɛə(ɹ)/ (UK).
Words near fayre in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: fayre (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “fayre.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fayre. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.