/feɪθ/
OriginFrom Middle English faith (also fay), borrowed from Old French fei, feid, from Latin fidem. Displaced native Old English ġelēafa, which was also a word for belief.
* 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 recharacterization of a French form like fay, fey, fei with the same suffix. Compare Champenois fiate, fiaite, showing the same preservation of the final consonant.
- countable, uncountableA trust or confidence in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or ideal from prior empirical evidence.
“The faithfulness of Old Faithful gives us faith in it.”
“I have faith in the goodness of my fellow man.”
“Have faith in him, buddy.”
- countable, uncountableA conviction about 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.”
“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard s”
- countable, metonymically, uncountableA religious or spiritual belief system.
“The Christian faith.”
“We seek justice for the Indo-European Folk Faith; what's wrong in our literature for that?”
“Gradually I realized that I needed a faith to rely on.”
- countable, uncountableAn 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.”
- countable, obsolete, uncountableCredibility or truth.
“1784-1810, William Mitford, History of Greece
the faith of the foregoing […] narrative”
- abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, obsoleteEllipsis of by my faith.
- countable, uncountableA female given name from English.
“"Now, I was called Faith after the cardinal virtue; and I like my name, though many people would think it too Puritan; that was according to our gentle mother's pious desire.”
““Faith.”
“No name that—no name that! I can’t stomach such a name. Got any other?”
“No, sir.”
“Don’t like the name, don’t like it. There’s no smeddum to it. Besides, it makes me think of my Aunt Jinny.”
“There was something to be said for all those religiously influenced names – Patience, Grace, Chastity, Faith. Better to be named for a virtue than to be landed with a forgettable name like 'Martin'.”
- countable, uncountableA surname, also used as a stage name.
- countable, uncountableAn unincorporated community in Norman County, Minnesota.
- countable, uncountableAn unincorporated community in Miller County, Missouri.
- countable, uncountableA town in Rowan County, North Carolina.
- countable, uncountableA minor city in Meade County, South Dakota.
Formsfaiths(plural) · feith(alternative, obsolete) · feithe(alternative, obsolete) · fayth(alternative, obsolete) · faythe(alternative, obsolete) · faithe(alternative, obsolete) · Faiths(plural)