bias
bias Wrtdtng: "zweischneidig"
c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570).
From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century.
The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbaɪəs/
Noun
bias (countable and uncountable, plural biases or biasses)
- (countable, uncountable) Inclination towards something.
- Synonyms: predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection
- (countable, textiles) The diagonal line between warp and weft in a woven fabric.
- (countable, textiles) A wedge-shaped piece of cloth taken out of a garment (such as the waist of a dress) to diminish its circumference.
- (electronics) A voltage or current applied to an electronic device, such as a transistor electrode, to move its operating point to a desired part of its transfer function.
- (statistics) The difference between the expectation of the sample estimator and the true population value, which reduces the representativeness of the estimator by systematically distorting it.
- (sports) In the games of crown green bowls and lawn bowls: a weight added to one side of a bowl so that as it rolls, it will follow a curved rather than a straight path; the oblique line followed by such a bowl; the lopsidedshape or structure of such a bowl. In lawn bowls, the curved course is caused only by the shape of the bowl. The use of weights is prohibited.[from 1560s]
- (South Korean idol fandom) A person's favourite member of a K-pop band.