fayre

adj

1. (archaic)Fair, beautiful.

   “'Nay, I wyll nat so,' seyde sir Trystrames, 'for here is none that woll gyff ryghtuous jugemente. But I doute nat,' seyde sir Trystrames, 'my lady is fayrer than youres, and that woll I make good with my hondys, and who that woll sey the contrary, I woll preve hit on his hede!'”

   “Now fayre, fayrest off every fayre.”

   “But that which I prize and eſteeme most is, That I have conquer'd in ſingle combat, that ſo famous Knight Don-Quixote de la Mancha, and made him confeſſe that my Caſildea is fayrer then his Dulcinea, […]”

   “He comming home at undertime, there found / The fayreſt creature that he ever ſaw / Sitting beſide his mother on the ground; […]”

   “But, more than alle, her youthful hearte / Was fraughte with virtue's lore; / More fayre, more tender, and more true, / Was mayden ne'er before.”

noun

1. (dated)A fair, a market.

   “The market or fayre of Usurers.”

   “THE FAYRE PROCLAIMED. / O Yes, come all who doe intend to buy / Good Penniworths; do you want Treachery, / Schisme, Sedition, Votes, both pro and con, / Doe you want Bane, to kill a Nation: / Doe you want Orders, Questions, Proclamations, / Covenants, Contracts, Compacts, Protestations, / Here you may furnisht be, with fires of ayre, / O yes, come all then, unto White-Hall Fayre.”

   “Stebbing Elizabethan fayre: The fourth great Elizabethan fayre to be held in the village and church of Stebbing.”

   “Funbury community centre is planning to hold a large summer fayre and wants to develop partnerships with organisations that can help to make the day a success. It also wants to achieve the overall aims of the centre, which are to provide for the needs of the community.”

2. (dated)Fare.

   “A book of ye olde English fayre.”

   “A typical fayre [for the England national rugby union team] at lunchtime would include curry or carbonara, soybeans, sweet potatoes, lentils, apples, oranges, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole wheat bread and fresh vegetables, while the evening meal could include cottage pie, steak, chicken and more steamed vegetables.”