Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Faith.
  • noun In Roman mythology, the goddess of faith or fidelity, commonly represented as a matron wearing a wreath of oliveor laurel-leaves, and having in her hand ears of corn or a basket of fruit.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Roman Muth.) Faith personified as a goddess; the goddess of faith.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Sometimes the lesser man was said to be "in feu" to the greater; the Latin word fides, i.e., "the bond of honour", was a technical word employed.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 8: Infamy-Lapparent 1840-1916 1913

  • Indeed, the word fiduciary comes from the Latin word fides, meaning faith.

    David McWilliams 2008

  • It’s called faith from the Latin fides, which means to make a commitment to something.

    The Dawkins Paradox 2006

  • My free market bona fides are as good as anyone's, and I have become increasingly suspicious of corporatiions -- principally because I see them as a threat to free enterprise.

    Eternal vigilance ... Frank Wilson 2006

  • Since it is not italicized, I assume it is pronounced as English, so fides rhymes with rides.

    Word Court 2004

  • Much I suppose could be made of the man's law enforcement bona fides, which is strange because Kerry Healey's sole qualification for public office in 2002 was a pair of criminal justice monographs she wrote for Abt Associates.

    The Chimes at Midnight 2006

  • Since it is not italicized, I assume it is pronounced as English, so fides rhymes with rides.

    Word Court 2004

  • Neither let that be feared which is said, Fronti nulla fides, which is meant of a general outward behaviour, and not of the private and subtle motions and labours of the countenance and gesture; which, as Q. Cicero elegantly saith, is Animi janua, “the gate of the mind.”

    The Advancement of Learning 2003

  • Public acts, official records, ought to be either the originals (engrossed) or authentic copies, i.e., certified to be faithful copies of the original preserved in the protocol, the notary who transcribes the document witnessing on the copy itself that it is exact; this is what is known as fides instrumentorum, or trustworthiness of the documents.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913

  • Neither let that be feared which is said, Fronti nulla fides, which is meant of a general outward behaviour, and not of the private and subtle motions and labours of the countenance and gesture; which, as Q. Cicero elegantly saith, is Animi janua, "the gate of the mind."

    The Advancement of Learning Francis Bacon 1593

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