faith

Pronunciation: /feɪθ/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
  2. noun complete confidence in a person or plan etc
  3. noun an institution to express belief in a divine power

Etymology

From 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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

religion, religious belief

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
theological virtue, belief
Narrower (hyponyms)
christianity, taoism, hinduism, manichaeism, cult, revealed religion

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