Wiktionary

bona fide

See also: bonafide and bonâ fide

English

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WOTD – 20 April 2007

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from Latin bonā fidē (“in good faith”).

Pronunciation

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Usage notes

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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

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bona fide (not comparable)

  1. 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

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Adjective

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bona fide (not comparable)

  1. 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 […] ‎[1], 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.
  2. 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[2], 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?‎[3]:
      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

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Sometimes misspelled as *bonafied, by incorrectly analyzing as the past participle of assumed *bonafy.[2]

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
  2. ^ Bonafied / Bona Fide, Paul Brians

Czech

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from Latin bonā fidē (“in good faith”).

Pronunciation

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Phrase

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bona fide

  1. bona fide (in good faith)

Further reading

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  • “bona fide”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “bona fide”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
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