bona fide
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Latin bonā fidē (“in good faith”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌbəʊ.nəˈfaɪ.di/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈboʊnə.faɪd/, /ˌboʊnəˈfaɪdi/, /ˈbɑnə.faɪd/, /ˈboʊnəˌfiːdeɪ/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈboʊnə.faɪd/
,Audio (US): (file) Audio (US): (file) Audio (US): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file)
Usage notes
The pronunciation /ˈboʊnə.faɪd/ is the most common one in the USA and therefore listed first in American dictionaries, incl. American Heritage, Merriam-Webster, Webster's Third New International Dictionary, and the American version of Collins.[1]
Adverb
bona fide (not comparable)
- In good faith; genuinely, sincerely.
- Synonym: (nonstandard) bonafidely
- 1761, [Laurence Sterne], chapter X, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume III, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC, pages 29–30:
- But by the knots I am speaking of, may it please your reverences to believe, that I mean good, honest, devilish tight, hard knots, made bona fide, as Obadiah made his; […]
- 1791, Joseph Priestley, Letters to Burke, section XII:
- Let thinking people, then, judge what must be the fate of a church, whose fundamental doctrines are disbelieved by men of sense and inquiry, whose articles are well known not to be subscribed bonâ fide by those who officiate in it […] .
Translations
done in good faith; genuinely; sincerely
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Adjective
bona fide (not comparable)
- In good faith; sincere; without deception or ulterior motive.
- Synonym: sincere
- Antonym: mala fide
- Although he failed, the prime minister made a bona fide attempt to repair the nation's damaged economy.
- 1899, Thorstein Veblen, “Devout Observances”, in The Theory of the Leisure Class […] , New York: Macmillan, →OCLC:
- It is impossible to say how far this adherence to a creed is a bona fide reversion to a devout habit of mind, and how far it is to be classed as a case of protective mimicry assumed for the purpose of an outward assimilation to canons of reputability borrowed from foreign ideals.
- Genuine; not counterfeit.
- Synonyms: authentic, genuine
- Antonyms: bogus, counterfeit
- This is a bona fide Roman coin.
- 1914 October – 1916 July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Mucker, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published 31 October 1921, →OCLC:
- To Billy Byrne, then, Pesita was a real general, and Billy, himself, a bona fide captain.
- 1955 June 30, “Ersatzes for Ersatzes”, in The Christian Science Monitor, volume 47, number 182:
- What intrigues us is what will happen when the ersatzes for the ersatzes come along. Will characters start substituting for actors, bona fide dogs for barking ladies; will people start looking at people again instead of television and at nature instead of at documentaries?
- 2000, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, O Brother, Where Art Thou?:
- Ulysses Everett McGill: I am the only daddy you got! I’m the damn pater familias!
Wharvey Gal: But you ain’t bona fide!
Usage notes
Sometimes misspelled as *bonafied, by incorrectly analyzing as the past participle of assumed *bonafy.[2]
Derived terms
Translations
done in good faith
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genuine — see also genuine
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See also
References
- Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
- Bonafied / Bona Fide, Paul Brians
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