bias English · revision 7000

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1530|origins=frm biais}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbaɪ.əs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|biais|t=a slant, slope; sideways]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Old Provençal [[m|pro|biais]], of uncertain origin,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) perhaps irregularly from Greek [[m|grc|ἐπικάρσιος|tr=epikársios|t=oblique, athwart]],^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) which, according to Bloch and Wartburg, may have reached Provençal through the Greek colonies of southern France.^(Barnhart 1988) The Greek is from epi, upon, and karsios, oblique, from PIE [[ine-pro|*sker-|t=to cut]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An oblique or diagonal line: 1530, in Palsgrave.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the game of bowls it was the weighting of a bowl on one side so that it curves (1560s, 1570 in the OED);^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) from this came the figurative ''one-sided tendency of the mind'' (1570s, 1589 in the OED), at first especially in law, undue propensity or prejudice.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The adjective, slanting, is from 1551,^(OED 1989) and in dressmaking, cut diagonally across the weave (''on the bias''), from 1815.^(OED 1989) The verb is from the 1610s literally and the 1620s figuratively.^(Etymonline) In electronics and statistics it has later technical senses.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1530 – an oblique line.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1551 – slanting (adjective).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1570 – in bowls.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1589 – a one-sided tendency.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610s – the verb.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1815 – cut on the bias.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A tendency to favour one side unfairly; [[partiality]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A line running diagonally across the weave of a fabric.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(statistics)'' A systematic distortion of a result.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The tendency of a bowl to curve, from its weighting.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(electronics)'' A steady voltage applied to a device to control its operation.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To influence unfairly; to [[prejudice]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[biasness]]

+ * [[unbiased]]

+ * [[bias tape]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[biased]]

+ * [[prejudice]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}