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faith (fāth)
Share:
n.
1.
a. Belief in God or in a set of religious doctrines.
b. A set of religious doctrines; a body of dogma: adhered to the Muslim faith.
c. often Faith Christianity Secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will viewed as a theological virtue.
2. Confident or unquestioning belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. See Synonyms at belief, trust.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters; refused to break faith with his friends.
Idioms:
in faith
Indeed; truly.
on faith
With willing trust in another: You'll have to accept my promise on faith.
[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman fed, from Latin fidēs; see bheidh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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