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faith

[feyth]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
  2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
  3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
  4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
  5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
  6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
  7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
  8. Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
Idioms
  1. in faith, in truth; indeed: In faith, he is a fine lad.

Origin of faith

1200–50; Middle English feith < Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit < Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs trust, akin to fīdere to trust. See confide
Related formsmul·ti·faith, adjective

Faith

[feyth]
noun
  1. a female given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for faith

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • One might have been a model for the seraphs of Christian faith, the other an Olympian deity.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • The city-pent, as we have intimated, must take this season largely on faith.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • And he was both to batter it down, for he still had the gambler's faith in his luck.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Yet in the Protectionist dispensation, this has become an article of faith.

    'Tis Sixty Years Since

    Charles Francis Adams

  • Have faith in me for a week, mother, and see if I don't earn something in that time.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for faith

faith

noun
  1. strong or unshakeable belief in something, esp without proof or evidence
  2. a specific system of religious beliefsthe Jewish faith
  3. Christianity trust in God and in his actions and promises
  4. a conviction of the truth of certain doctrines of religion, esp when this is not based on reason
  5. complete confidence or trust in a person, remedy, etc
  6. any set of firmly held principles or beliefs
  7. allegiance or loyalty, as to a person or cause (esp in the phrases keep faith, break faith)
  8. bad faith insincerity or dishonesty
  9. good faith honesty or sincerity, as of intention in business (esp in the phrase in good faith)
interjection
  1. archaic indeed; really (also in the phrases by my faith, in faith)

Word Origin

C12: from Anglo-French feid, from Latin fidēs trust, confidence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for faith

n.

mid-13c., "duty of fulfilling one's trust," from Old French feid, foi "faith, belief, trust, confidence, pledge," from Latin fides "trust, faith, confidence, reliance, credence, belief," from root of fidere "to trust," from PIE root *bheidh- (cf. Greek pistis; see bid). For sense evolution, see belief. Theological sense is from late 14c.; religions called faiths since c.1300.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with faith

faith

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.