Dictionary / faith
faith
- noun
- from Old French
A trust or confidence in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or ideal from prior empirical evidence.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “faith” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- countableuncountableA trust or confidence in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or ideal from prior empirical evidence.
The faithfulness of Old Faithful gives us faith in it.
- countableuncountableA conviction about abstractions, ideas, or beliefs, without empirical evidence, experience, or observation.
I have faith that my prayers will be answered.
- countablemetonymicallyuncountableA religious or spiritual belief system.
The Christian faith.
- countableuncountableAn obligation of loyalty or fidelity and the observance of such an obligation.
He acted in good faith to restore broken diplomatic ties after defeating the incumbent.
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- countableobsoleteuncountableCredibility or truth.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (4)
- nouna strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny — also: religion, religious belief
- nouncomplete confidence in a person or plan etc — also: trust
- nounan institution to express belief in a divine power — also: religion, organized religion
- nounloyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person
Synonyms: belief, confidence, trust, conviction, system of religious belief
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)faith
- Middle Englishfaith (also fay)
- Old Frenchfei
- Latinfidem
From Middle English faith (also fay), borrowed from Old French fei, feid, from Latin fidem. Doublet of foy. Displaced native Old English ġelēafa, which was also a word for belief.
* Old French had [θ] as a final devoiced allophone of /ð/ from lenited Latin /d/; this eventually fell silent in the 12th century. The -th of the Middle English forms is most straightforwardly accounted for as a direct borrowing of a French [θ]. However, it has also been seen as arising from alteration of a French form with -d under influence of English abstract nouns in the suffix -th (e.g., truth, ruth, health, etc.), or as a recharacterization of a French form like fay, fey, fei with the same suffix. Compare Champenois fiate, fiaite, showing the same preservation of the final consonant.
Derivatives — words built from “faith”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “faith” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “faith” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Wiktionary’s etymology does not give a separate meaning for the earliest form of “faith”, so we don’t state one. The historical dictionary entry below shows how the word was understood in 1913.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
faith n. [OE. feith, fayth, fay, OF. feid, feit, fei, F. foi, fr. L. fides; akin to fidere to trust, Gr. pei`qein to persuade. The ending th is perhaps due to the influence of such words as truth, health, wealth. See Bid, Bide, and cf. Confide, Defy, Fealty.]
- Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting solely and implicitly on his authority and veracity; reliance on testimony.
- The assent of the mind to the statement or proposition of another, on the ground of the manifest truth of what he utters; firm and earnest belief, on probable evidence of any kind, especially in regard to important moral truth.
- The belief in the historic truthfulness of the Scripture narrative, and the supernatural origin of its teachings, sometimes called historical and speculative faith.
- The belief in the facts and truth of the Scriptures, with a practical love of them; especially, that confiding and affectionate belief in the person and work of Christ, which affects the character and life, and makes a man a true Christian, -- called a practical, evangelical, or saving faith.
faith interj.
- By my faith; in truth; verily.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: A trust or confidence in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or ideal from prior empirical evidence.
The faithfulness of Old Faithful gives us faith in it.
I have faith in the goodness of my fellow man.
nounMeaning: A conviction about abstractions, ideas, or beliefs, without empirical evidence, experience, or observation.
I have faith that my prayers will be answered.
I have faith in the healing power of crystals.
nounMeaning: A religious or spiritual belief system.
The Christian faith.
We seek justice for the Indo-European Folk Faith; what's wrong in our literature for that?
nounMeaning: An obligation of loyalty or fidelity and the observance of such an obligation.
He acted in good faith to restore broken diplomatic ties after defeating the incumbent.
nounMeaning: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
he lost his faith but not his morality
nounMeaning: complete confidence in a person or plan etc
he cherished the faith of a good woman
nounMeaning: an institution to express belief in a divine power
a member of his own faith contradicted him
nounMeaning: loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person
keep the faith
they broke faith with their investors
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
faith
/feɪθ/
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
faith
/feɪθ/ · noun
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “faith” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“The faithfulness of Old Faithful gives us faith in it.”
Circle the meaning used.
“I have faith that my prayers will be answered.”
Circle the meaning used.
“The Christian faith.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “faith” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — faith
Which meaning, sentence 1: B. A trust or confidence in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or ideal from prior empirical evidence.
Which meaning, sentence 2: A. A conviction about abstractions, ideas, or beliefs, without empirical evidence, experience, or observation.
Which meaning, sentence 3: C. A religious or spiritual belief system.
Origin: B. Old French (Old French fei)
Journey: English faith ← Middle English faith ← Old French fei ← Latin fidem
Some derivatives: antifaith, faith-based, faithbreach, faithbreaker, faith-cure, faithectomy, faithed, faitheism
Etymology: From Middle English faith (also fay), borrowed from Old French fei, feid, from Latin fidem. Doublet of foy. Displaced native Old English ġelēafa, which was also a word for belief.
Sources: Wiktionary “faith” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/faith#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/faith