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Fair vs Help - What's the difference?

fair | help |

As a proper noun fair

is .

As a noun help is

(uncountable) action given to provide assistance; aid.

As a verb help is

to provide assistance to (someone or something).

fair

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) fayr, feir, fager, from (etyl) .

Adjective

(er)
  • Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
  • :
  • :
  • *{{quote-book, year=1917, year_published=2008
  • , edition=HTML, author=(Edgar Rice Burroughs), publisher=The Gutenberg Project , title= A Princess of Mars , passage="It was a purely scientific research party sent out by my father's father, the Jeddak of Helium, to rechart the air currents, and to take atmospheric density tests," replied the fair prisoner, in a low, well-modulated voice.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=2010, author=(Stephan Grundy)
  • , title= Beowulf , genre=Fiction, publisher=iUniverse, isbn=9781440156977, page=33 , passage=And yet he was also, though many generations separated them, distant cousin to the shining eoten-main Geard, whom the god Frea Ing had seen from afar and wedded; and to Scatha, the fair daughter of the old thurse Theasa, who had claimed a husband from among the gods as weregild for her father's slaying: often, it was said, the ugliest eotens would sire the fairest maids.}}
  • Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.
  • :
  • :
  • *Book of Common Prayer
  • *:a fair white linen cloth
  • Light in color, pale, particularly as regards skin tone but also referring to blond hair.
  • :
  • *1677 , (Matthew Hale), The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature , page 200
  • *:the northern people large and fair -complexioned
  • *
  • *:This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. In complexion fair , and with blue or gray eyes, he was tall as any Viking, as broad in the shoulder.
  • Just, equitable.
  • :
  • *
  • *:“[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
  • Adequate, reasonable, or decent.
  • :
  • *, chapter=3
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}
  • Favorable to a ship's course.
  • Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious; said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.
  • :
  • *(Matthew Prior) (1664-1721)
  • *:You wish fair winds may waft him over.
  • Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.
  • :
  • *Sir (Walter Raleigh) (ca.1554-1618)
  • *:The caliphs obtained a mighty empire, which was in a fair way to have enlarged.
  • (lb) Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
  • (lb) Between the baselines.
  • Synonyms
    * (beautiful) beautiful, pretty, lovely * (unblemished) pure, clean, neat * (light in color) pale * (just) honest, just, equitable
    Derived terms
    * all's fair in love and war * fair and square * fair cop * fair copy * fair go * fair play * fair sex * fair to middling * fair use * fair-weather friend * to be fair

    Noun

    (fair)
  • Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).
  • When will we learn to distinguish between the fair and the foul?
  • (obsolete) A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex’; also as a collective singular, women.
  • * 1744 , , act 2, scene 8
  • ''Love and Hymen, hand in hand,
    ''Come, restore the nuptial band!
    ''And sincere delights prepare
    ''To crown the hero and the fair .
  • * 1749 , Henry Fielding, Tom Jones , Folio Society 1973, p. 39:
  • In enjoying, therefore, such place of rendezvous, the British fair ought to esteem themselves more happy than any of their foreign sisters
  • * 1819 , Lord Byron, Don Juan , III.24:
  • If single, probably his plighted Fair / Has in his absence wedded some rich miser [...].
  • (obsolete) Fairness, beauty.
  • (Shakespeare)
  • A fair woman; a sweetheart.
  • * Shenstone
  • I have found out a gift for my fair .
  • (obsolete) Good fortune; good luck.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Now fair befall thee!

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).
  • To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members).
  • To construct or design a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline or reduce air drag or water resistance.
  • (obsolete) To make fair or beautiful.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Fairing the foul.
    Synonyms
    * (to reduce air drag or water resistance) to streamline
    Derived terms
    * fair off * fair up * fairing

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • Clearly; openly; frankly; civilly; honestly; favorably; auspiciously; agreeably.
  • Derived terms
    * bid fair * fair and square

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) feire, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.
  • An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.
  • * , chapter=7
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.}}
  • An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business.
  • A funfair, an amusement park.
  • Derived terms
    * funfair

    Statistics

    * ----

    help

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl), from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • (uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.
  • I need some help with my homework.
  • (usually, uncountable) Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
  • He was a great help to me when I was moving house.
    I've printed out a list of math helps .
  • Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.
  • I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.
  • (usually, uncountable) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
  • The help is coming round this morning to clean.
    Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.
  • (uncountable, euphemistic) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
  • His suicide attempts were a cry for help .
    He really needs help in handling customer complaints.
    ''"He's a real road-rager." / "Yup, he really needs help , maybe anger management."
    Usage notes
    The sense "people employed to help in the maintenance of a house" is usually an uncountable mass noun. A countable form - "a hired help''", "''two hired helps " - is attested, but now less common.
    Synonyms
    * (action given to provide assistance) aid, assistance * (person or persons who provide assistance) * (person employed to help in the maintenance of a house)
    Derived terms
    * cry for help * help desk * helpful * helpless * helpline * helply * helpmate * helpmeet * helpsome * home help * self-help

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) helpen, from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To provide assistance to (someone or something).
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Snakes and ladders , passage=Risk is everywhere.
  • To contribute in some way to.
  • To provide assistance.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=19 citation , passage=As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help , and he stripped off his tunic at once.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}
  • To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can .
  • Usage notes
    * Use 3 is often used in the imperative mood as a call for assistance. * In uses 1, 2 and 3, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . It can also take the bare infinitive with no change in meaning. * In use 4, can't help is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) or, with but, the bare infinitive. * For more information, see
    Synonyms
    * (provide assistance to) aid, assist, come to the aid of, help out * (contribute in some way to) contribute to * (provide assistance) assist
    Derived terms
    * a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down * can't help * helper * helping * help oneself * help out