In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
The nonstandard pronunciation /ˈbaɪəsiːz/ (with the final syllable pronounced like seize) is due to influence from plurals like parentheses and hypotheses. Compare processes, where a similar influence is found.
biases
plural of bias
biases
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of bias
• baseis
Source: Wiktionary
Bi"as, n.; pl. Biases. Etym: [F. biasis, perh. fr. LL. bifax two- faced; L. bis + facies face. See Bi-, and cf. Face.]
1. A weight on the side of the ball used in the game of bowls, or a tendency imparted to the ball, which turns it from a straight line. Being ignorant that there is a concealed bias within the spheroid, which will . . . swerve away. Sir W. Scott.
2. A learning of the mind; propensity or prepossession toward an object or view, not leaving the mind indifferent; bent inclination. Strong love is a bias upon the thoughts. South. Morality influences men's lives, and gives a bias to all their actions. Locke.
3. A wedge-shaped piece of cloth taken out of a garment (as the waist of a dress) to diminish its circumference.
4. A slant; a diagonal; as, to cut cloth on the bias.
Syn.
– Prepossession; prejudice; partiality; inclination. See Bent.
Bi"as, a.
1. Inclined to one side; swelled on one side. [Obs.] Shak.
2. Cut slanting or diagonally, as cloth.
Bi"as, adv.
Definition: In a slanting manner; crosswise; obliquely; diagonally; as, to cut cloth bias.
Bi"as, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Biased; p. pr. & vb. n. Biasing.]
Definition: To incline to one side; to give a particular direction to; to influence; to prejudice; to prepossess. Me it had not biased in the one direction, nor should it have biased any just critic in the counter direction. De. Quincey.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 November 2024
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.