fond1
[fond]
- having a liking or affection for (usually followed by of): to be fond of animals.
- loving; affectionate: to give someone a fond look.
- excessively tender or overindulgent; doting: a fond parent.
- cherished with strong or unreasoning feeling: to nourish fond hopes of becoming president.
- Archaic. foolish or silly.
- Archaic. foolishly credulous or trusting.
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Origin of fond1
1300–50; Middle English fond, fonned (past participle of fonnen to be foolish, orig., to lose flavor, sour)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for fond on Thesaurus.com2. cherishing. 5. infatuated. 6. gullible.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fonder
Contemporary Examples
But I imagine that we got fonder of each other, and he put me up for things.
Historical Examples
I am fonder of you than any other man I know, but it is the fondness of long friendship.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton CampusJessie Graham Flower
It's fonder she was of Michael, and would any one have thought that?
Riders to the SeaJ. M. Synge
They were not fonder of the lock-up than are most boys who deserve that punishment.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
One young lady declared that she was fonder of music than anything in the world.
Henry DunbarM. E. Braddon
There is nothing I am fonder of—— Sometimes I tickle the soles of my feet with it.
Abbe Mouret's TransgressionEmile Zola
fond1
- (postpositive foll by of) predisposed (to); having a liking (for)
- loving; tendera fond embrace
- indulgent; dotinga fond mother
- (of hopes, wishes, etc) cherished but unlikely to be realizedhe had fond hopes of starting his own business
- archaic, or dialect
- foolish
- credulous
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Word Origin
C14 fonned, from fonnen to be foolish, from fonne a fool
fond2
- the background of a design, as in lace
- obsolete fund; stock
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Word Origin
C17: from French, from Latin fundus bottom; see fund
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 fonder
fond
adj.
mid-14c., originally "foolish, silly," from past tense of fonnen "to fool, be foolish," perhaps from Middle English fonne "fool" (early 14c.), of uncertain origin; or possibly related to fun.
Meaning evolved by 1590 via "foolishly tender" to "having strong affections for." Another sense of fonne was "to lose savor," which may be the original meaning of the word (e.g. Wyclif: "Gif þe salt be fonnyd it is not worþi," c.1380). Related: Fonder; fondest.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper