▪ I. fade, n.1
[f. the vb.]
1. The action of the vb. fade.
In quot. 1969 nix out on the fade in Surfers' slang = don't go away.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23513 (Cott.) Frenscip þar es, wit-vten fade [sc. in heuin]. 1775 Harris Philos. Arrangem. Wks. (1841) 301 [A slain hero and a flower just gathered have] the same drooping head, the same lifeless fade, the same relicts of a form that was once fair and flourishing. 1918 A. Stringer House of Intrigue ii. 27, I got so I could face a tight fade without a quaver, and do my gay-cat part in sloughing our make as easily as falling off a log. 1965 Language XLI. 277 Stockwell suggests that the lesser fade at the juncture between the two ‘main’ conjuncts can be described as an environmentally conditioned allophone of terminal fade. 1969 Times 25 July 5/2 Nix out on the fade with it stashed on the moke. |
b. Phr. to do (or take) a fade (U.S. slang), to disappear.
| 1949 A. Miller Death of Salesman i. 57 If I'm going to take a fade the boss can call any number where I'm supposed to be and they'll swear to him that I just left. 1962 K. Orvis Damned & Destroyed xiv. 92 Then, pal, we'll both do a fade. 1970 H. Waugh Finish me Off (1971) 86 If this is a sample of her business acumen, that beauty salon will do a fast fade. |
2. Cinematogr. and Broadcasting. The action or an act of ‘fading’ (see fade v.1 9); also, the gradual decrease or (freq. fade-in) increase in the brightness or definition of a picture or the loudness of a sound. See also fade-out.
| 1918 H. Croy How Motion Pictures are Made vii. 175 It was in such experiments that the principle of fade was discovered, by means of which a scene could be made gradually to grow plainer until the full details were before the audience. This in photographic parlance came to be known as the fade-in. Ibid., The second means of accomplishing a fade picture is by means of the dissolving shutter. Ibid., The diaphragm fade is open to the objection that with an iris that never closes completely it is impossible to make a complete fade. 1922 L. C. Macbean Kinemat. Studio Technique ix. 71 The number of turns in which a ‘mix’ or ‘fade’ should be accomplished. 1937 Printers Ink Monthly Apr. 53/1 Fade, a diminishing of program volume. 1937 Amer. Speech XII. 101 To fade is usually the engineer's duty, reducing volume of an orchestra..while an announcer speaks into another microphone, hence a good or bad fade-in. 1960 D. Wilson Television Playwright 15 By means of ‘mixes’ and ‘fades’ short or long time-lapses can be established. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio ix. 153 When we talk about the fade, the first thing that springs to mind is the use to which it is put in dramatic productions: the convention is that each scene starts with a fade in, and ends with a fade out. |
3. Theatr. The gradual brightening or dimming of the stage lighting; usu. fade-in or fade-out.
| 1959 W. C. Lounsbury Backstage from A to Z 39 Fade in, gradual dim up of lights or sound. 1962 Listener 5 July 26/3 Pointless use of fade-in and fade-out lights on a stage confusingly and ineptly split into four parts. |
4. The reduction in effectiveness of the braking system of a motor vehicle, e.g. as a result of the generation of heat.
| 1949 G. Grant Modern Motorcars vi. 47 On the average car the efficiency of the linings is not greatly impaired until the brake-drum temperature reaches a critical point, where there is a noticeable falling-off of braking power. This is known as ‘brake-fade’, and can be a very real problem on ultra-fast cars. 1959 Motor 4 Mar. 163/1 Unusual design of..brake drum..produces fade only after severe provocation. 1962 Which? Car Suppl. Oct. 141/1 Its brakes..were very susceptible to fade. |
5. Comb., as fade-proof a., resistant to fading.
| 1909 Public Ledger (Philadelphia) 26 June 7/6 Pure worsted serge suits—guaranteed fade-proof. 1959 Listener 5 Mar. 435/1 They [sc. the fabrics] are rot-proof and fade-proof. 1961 Ibid. 30 Nov. 933/1 His jokes are appreciated for their topicality, which cannot be fade⁓proof. |
Sense 5 in Dict. becomes 6. Add: 5. Golf. A ball's swerve or deviation from a straight course in flight towards the right (for a right-handed player), esp. if moderate and intentional; also, a stroke that causes this.
| 1932 A. J. Morrison New Way to Better Golf 121 The ‘laid back’ position of the clubface..tends to send the ball away with a slight ‘fade’ to the right. 1948 B. Hogan Power Golf 24 This stance encourages a fade or slice. 1969 J. Nicklaus Greatest Game of All 284 He hits wider and wider fades, and ends up by slicing the ball. 1975 D. Langdon How to talk Golf 13 If perpetrated by a class golfer it is described by him brazenly as a ‘controlled fade’. 1985 Radio Times 13 July 82/3 With that one club he could rifle a ball 200 yards down a fairway..and bend shots around trees, either with a draw or a fade. |
▸ U.S. A hairstyle (worn chiefly by African-Americans) in which the sides and back of the head are closely cropped, and the hair on the top of the head freq. given a flat-topped or block shape. Cf. high-top fade n. at high-top adj. and n. Special uses.
Earliest in Philly fade n. at Philly n. and adj. Compounds.
| 1986 Washington Post (Nexis) 30 Aug. d1 He wears the same Philly Fade hairstyle as Olympian Carl Lewis. 1987 Sports Illustr. 6 Apr. 34/2 Guard Freddie Banks displayed his number, 13, shaved into the rear of his fade haircut. 1989 Village Voice (N.Y.) 20 June 39/2 The fade is the current common denominator... At..Afrocentric barbershops the fade flattop became a sculpture. 1994 Newsweek 10 Jan. 49 The..baggy jeans, sweat shirts and footgear that go with Marc's earrings and Shawn's modified fade. 2001 Times-Picayune (New Orleans) (Nexis) 23 Apr. 1 His hair was shorn in a sleek ‘fade’. |
▪ II. fade, n.2 dial.
(feɪd)
[? f. fade v.1]
Mould (on cheese); oftener blue-fade, green-fade.
| 1884 Holland Chester Gloss., Green-Fade, blue mould in cheese. 1887 Darlington Folk-speech S. Chesh., Blue-fade. |
▪ III. † fade, n.3 Obs.
Also 6 faid.
a. A company of hunters. b. ? The leader of the hunt.
| 1513 Douglas æneis iv. iii. 56 Quhen..the rangis and the faid on breid Dynnis throw the gravis. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. 205 Quhen the faid had brocht in the wolf afore the houndis, the skry arais, and ilk man went to his gam. 1567 Sempill Inclination of King in Ballates (1872) 2 The faid also rycht feitlie could he set. 1606 W. Birnie Kirk-Buriall (1833) 25 The formest [ship]..doth fuir before with lantern and flag, as fade whom the rest should follow. |
▪ IV. † fade, a.1 Obs.
Also 4 fede, 5 fadde.
[Etymology unknown; the senses assigned are somewhat uncertain, and perh. the examples do not all contain the same word.]
1. Strong, doughty, brave, powerful. Also, of a thing: Great, large.
| c 1320 Sir Tristr. 153 Þe kniȝtes þat wer fade, Þai dede as rohand bade. Ibid. 2474 In þat forest fede Tristrem hodain gan chast. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 149 He ferde as freke were fade. a 1400 Sir Perc. 616 Ther was no mane that durste hym lett, Thofe that he ware fadde. Ibid. 1165 The childe sawe that he was fade. c 1400 Rowland & O. 1420 Full fele Sarazenes felle þay fade. |
2. ? Cruel, ? hostile.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 24025 (Cott.) Þe folk þat was sa fade [v.r. fad] O clai þai kest at him þe clote, And laiked wit him sitisote. a 1400 Sir Perc. 1440 If I sle hym, or he me, That never ȝit was fade? |
▪ V. fade, a.2
(feɪd)
Also 3 vad, 5 faed.
[a. F. fade vapid, insipid, dull, faded; according to M. Gaston Paris (Mém. de la Soc. de Ling. I. 90) repr. L. vapidum (see vapid); cf. OF. rade:—L. rapidum, maussade:—L. male sapidum.
The great difficulty is the anomalous representation of L. v by f; the apparent parallel in OF. feiz (mod. fois):—vicem is questionable, the f in that case being prob. due to sentence-combination. The ordinary view that fade descends from L. fatuum foolish, also insipid (whence Pr. fatz fem. fade, in same senses), is inadmissible on phonological grounds; but it is possible that early confusion with this word may have given rise to the change of v into f. No OF. *vade has been found: if it existed it would explain the Eng. vade, var. of fade v., which is otherwise difficult to account for, as the Eng. dialects that have v for f usually retain f in Romanic words. Cf. Fr. dial. (Lyons) vadou (fem. vadoussi), repr. L. type *vapidōsum.]
† 1. Of colour, etc.: Dull, pale, wan, sombre. Obs. exc. arch.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 318/672 Of fade [MS. Harl. No. 2277 vad] colur of hard huyde. c 1350 Will. Palerne 891 Þi faire hewe is al fade. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 173 The nettle.. maketh hem [roses] fade and pale of hewe. c 1399 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 7 The day is gone, the nygth is derk and fade. c 1430 Syr Gener. 1288 With angry hert and colour fade. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 225 Thyn een..lost thay have thare light And wax alle faed in fere. c 1500 Blowbol's Test. 23 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 93 His evy countenaunces and his colour fade. 1854 S. Dobell Balder xxiii. 127 Tears Grow in the fade eyes of the relict world. |
† 2. Faded, feeble, languishing, withered. Obs.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 3220 Proude wymmen..þat are so foule and fade, That make hem feyrere than God hem made Wyþ oblaunchere. 13.. Leg. Rood (1871) 66 Þare groued neuer gres, ne neuer sall, Bot euermore be..falow, and fade. 1388 Wyclif Ecclus. xi. 12 Ther is a man fade. 1540–54 Croke Ps. (Percy Soc.) 30 All ben cleane put out of place That my sowle trobled, and ben fade. 1613–31 Primer Our Lady 18 Our sence here fraile and fade. 1752 Berkeley Thoughts on Tarwater Wks. 1871 III. 493 Tar-water..may extract..from the clay a fade sweetishness. |
‖ 3. [mod.F. fade (fad).] That has lost taste; insipid, commonplace, uninteresting.
Some of the early instances may be the Eng. word in fig. use of 2.
| 1715 M. Davies Athen. Brit. I. 195 Fade and unsavoury Anglo-saxon turns of thinking and speaking. 1775 F. Burney Early Diary 3 Apr., Mr. Nesbit..is a young man infinitely fade. 1813 M. Edgeworth Patron. (1832) I. xvi. 261 Simplicity had something too fade in it to suit his taste. 1824 Westm. Rev. I. 556 A picture at once crude, coarse, and fâde [sic]. 1834 Fraser's Mag. X. 102 A fade and vapid style of set-speech compliment. 1862 Athenæum 25 Oct. 527 Mrs. Opie['s] fade and feeble sentimentality. |
Hence ˈfadeness, Obs. rare—1. The quality or state of being ‘fade’; want of vivacity, dullness.
| 1837 Fraser's Mag. XVI. 550 Emily..was a blonde..yet had she none of the fadeness so common to such a complexion. |
▪ VI. fade, v.1
(feɪd)
Forms: α. 4–5 fade(n, (4 fate), 5–6 faid(e, 6 feid, 4– fade; β. 5–6 vade.
[a. OF. fade-r, f. fade fade a.2]
1. intr. Of a flower, plant, etc.: To lose freshness and vigour; to droop, wither.
| α 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 697 For a flour þat semes fayre and bright Thurgh stormes fades. c 1465 12 Lett. 45 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 2 An R for the Rose þat is fresche and wol nat fade. 1578 Gude & G. Ball. (1868) 83 Lyke the widderit hay sone sall they faid. 1610 Niccols Winter Night (cont. Mirr. Mag.) 556 The barren fields, which whilome flower'd as they would neuer fade. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 360 Elisian Flours..that never fade. 1704 Pope Autumn 29 Ye trees that fade when autumn-heats remove. Ibid. 69 The garlands fade, the vows are worn away. 1859 Tennyson Lotos-eaters 82 The flower..Ripens and fades, and falls. |
| β c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn liv. 212 Life began to vade. 1578 Lyte Dodoens v. lxxix. 648 The leaves..do not vade and perish. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 613/1 The state of this worlde..is flitting, and euer vading. 1597 Gerard Herbal i. xxxii. §2 (1598) 43 When the flowers be vaded, then followe the seedes. |
| fig. c 1400 Rom. Rose 354 Faded was al hir beaute. 1500–20 Dunbar Contemplatioun iv, Thy youth, Sall feid as dois the somer flouris. 1655 Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 261 Our expectation of the breach betweene the crowne of France and Cromwell..is fadinge. 1696 Tate & Brady Ps. xvi. 11 And Joys that never fade. 1828 Mrs. Hemans Graves Household 23 She faded 'midst Italian flowers. 1878 B. Taylor Deukalion ii. iii, Honors fade unworn. |
† 2. To grow small or weak; to decline, decay, fail, or faint; to shrink. lit. and fig. Obs.
| 1388 Wyclif Josh. xviii. 3 How longe faden ȝe bi cowardise. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. iii. (1495) 443 A manere ryuer that..fadyth in drye weder. c 1450 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 114 Þou art þ⊇ lufe þat neuere sal fade. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 6 b, The heuenly rychesse, that neuer shall fade ne fayle. 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. Wks. 1212 The faith shalbe at that tyme so far faded, that [etc.]. 1585 J. B. tr. P. Viret's Sch. Beastes C b, With the touch thereof [poyson] her heare, her eares, and nose, did fade. |
† 3. trans. To weaken; to deprive of freshness or vigour; to corrupt, taint. Obs.
| c 1400 Test. Love i. (1560) 272/2 Ne death, ne no manner travayle hath no power myne heart so much to fade. c 1400 Destr. Troy 9188 A ffrele woman me fades. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. i. 69 Set þow hawe fadyt þi Lawte. c 1440 York Myst. i. 132 Sum ar fallen into fylthe þat evermore sall fade þam. 1775 [see faded ppl. a.]. |
4. intr. Of colour, light, or any object possessing these qualities: To lose brightness or brilliance; to grow dim, faint, or pale. Also with away.
| α [1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 9295 Hys wrytyng was alle to-fade.] 13.. Pearl (Gollancz) lxxxvii. 6 A parfyt perle þat neuer fatez. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 109 The mone is somedele faded. a 1400–50 Alexander 5309 ‘Qui fadis so þi faire hew?’ said þe faire lady. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. vi, When the day gan faide. 1483 Act 1 Rich. III, c. 8 Preamb., The Colours made with the which Orchell..faden away. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xviii, Thy eternal summer shall not fade. 1718 Freethinker No. 63. 53 The strongest Colouring will fade. 1783–94 Blake Songs Innoc., Nurse's Song 13 Go and play till the light fades away. 1801 Southey Thalaba xii. xv, Dimmer now it [the flame] fades, and now is quench'd. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 74 Light..deepening at one extremity into red, and fading at the other into a pure ethereal hue. |
| β 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. Pref. in Ashm. (1652) 127 Colour whych wyll not vade. |
| fig. 1792 Rogers Pleas. Mem. i. 88 When nature fades and life forgets to charm. 1836 Emerson Nat., Prospects Wks. (Bohn) II. 172 When the fact is seen under the light of an idea, the gaudy fable fades. 1876 E. Mellor Priesth. v. 208 The old Dispensation faded away in the dawning light of the New. |
5. trans. † a. To lose brilliancy of (colour). Obs. b. To cause to lose colour; to dim, dull, wither. Now rare.
| 1559 Cavill in Baldwin's Mirrour for Magistrates (1563) B iv a, The fresshest colours soonest fade the hue. 1598 Marston Pygmal. iv. 154 So haue I seen the march wind striue to fade The fairest hewe that Art, or Nature made. 1658 Dryden O. Cromwell xv, No winter could his laurels fade. 1744 E. Heywood Female Spectator (1748) I. 272 Ill⁓nature..swells the lip, fades the complexion, contracts the brow. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1852) II. 587 To brighten or fade their colours. 1839 Longfellow Hyperion Prose Wks. (1886) II. ii. iii. 81 The early autumn gives to the summer leaves a warmer glow, yet fades them not. 1864 N. Hawthorne Grimshawe's Secret xi. (1883) 133 Tapestry, or carpet..still retaining much of the ancient colors, where there was no visible sunshine to fade them. |
6. a. intr. To pass away or disappear gradually; vanish, die out. Also with away.
| α 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 15 He stands amazed how he thence should fade. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 155 Like this insubstantiall Pageant faded. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian vii, And fades, as if into air, at my approach. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 11, I saw the last blue line of my native land fade away. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 134 Religious animosity..would of itself fade away. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. vii. 68 Headland after headland..until they faded into the mysterious North. 1876 E. Mellor Priesth. vi. 279 Other persons and things might fade from their memory. |
| β 1538 Starkey England i. ii. 35 Thys bodyly wele wyl sone vade and vanysch away. 1548 Hall Chron. 117 The glory of thenglishmen..began..to decay, and vade awaie in Fraunce. a 1555 J. Philpot in Pagitt Heresiogr. (1648) 43 To my great griefe it [a vision] vaded away. |
b. humorously transf. To vanish mysteriously. Also, to disappear from the scene; to depart; to faint. Freq. const. away, out.
| 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lx. 540 Florence Scape, Fanny Scape and their mother faded away to Boulogne. 1900 Ade More Fables (1902) 10 The Bookie told him to Back Up and Fade and do a Disappearing Specialty. 1910 ‘I. Hay’ in Granta 11 June 12 Next moment everybody seemed to fade away. 1924 A. J. Small Frozen Gold i. 39 When that gang fades out of one camp, I hear all about it inside twenty-four hours. 1929 J. B. Priestley Good Companions i. ii. 63 ‘My wife,’ Mr. Rathbury muttered, fading out. 1950 Times 20 Sept. 2/6 Miller, Lindwall, and Johnson have faded out of the picture. 1954 ‘N. Blake’ Whisper in Gloom i. iv. 60 Copper and Foxy faded. |
† c. trans. (causatively). Obs.
| 1787 Mirror 295 Those lineaments which time..had almost faded away from her remembrance. |
7. intr. Of sound: to die away or out. Also, with in, up, to increase gradually in loudness from a low or inaudible level.
| 1879 G. B. Prescott Speaking Telephone ix. 287 The voice increased or faded out in proportion as the telephone was directed toward or receded from the pole of the dipping needle. 1924 Wireless Ann. 21 Without a word of warning, the signal ‘fades’ to nothing. 1932 F. E. Terman Radio Engin. xiii. 488 As the signals fade in or out, the sensitivity of the receiver is varied. 1966 J. L. Bernstein Audio Syst. v. 122 Moving the control..causes the signal from one channel to fade out and the other to fade in. 1969 A. Glyn Dragon Variation ix. 282 ‘That's a sort of bon voyage present from Miami,’ she said, when the orchestra finally faded out. 1971 Daily Tel. 30 July 13/3 ‘Welcome to your Sunday bumper edition of Radio Northwick Park.’.. The music fades up and Paul closes the mike for an aside to fellow programme announcer Phil. |
8. slang. (See quots. 1942, 1964.)
| 1890 Dialect Notes I. 61 To fade, to bet against the player shooting. [1912 J. W. Johnson Autobiogr. Ex-colored Man vi. 92, I was soon ‘fated’. I threw the dice—seven—I had won.] 1931 D. Runyon Guys & Dolls (1932) xiii. 273 Nathan Detroit's crap game is what is called..a fading game, because the guys bet against each other rather than against the bank, or house. 1934 J. T. Farrell Young Manhood Studs Lonigan (1936) xvii. 368 Weary frowned at the guy and faded ten of the fifteen. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §750/6 Fade, to cover the bet of the thrower [at dice]. 1957 W. C. Handy Father of Blues xvii. 233 Lovejoy faded him for twenty-five cents. 1964 A. Wykes Gambling vi. 141 To ‘fade’ is to accept a bet. |
9. a. Cinematogr. trans. To cause (a picture, etc.) to pass gradually in or out, i.e. to appear or disappear on the screen.
| 1918 H. Croy How Motion Pictures are Made vii. 177 The fourth method of fading a picture is by means of a chemical process. Ibid., This shutter device for fading out a picture may be operated automatically or by hand. 1918 V. O. Freeburg Art of Photoplay Making 122 The caption ‘The Depths of Shame’ is faded in. 1922 L. C. Macbean Kinemat. Studio Technique ix. 82 On occasions..it is necessary..to fade or mix titles into a scene to which they relate. 1958 R. H. Bomback Handbk. Amat. Cinematogr. II. 93 For some shots that have to be faded in or out you may be able to increase the camera speed so that each individual frame will receive less exposure. 1969 P. Petzold All-in-One Cine Bk. 27 If you can fade a scene this is the ideal answer to show the passing of time. |
b. transf. Of radio and television transmission. Also with up, down.
| 1927 Observer 11 Sept. 21 Why can't we have the crowd noises faded in? If it is properly handled it won't interfere with the man who is reading the race. Ibid. 30 Oct. 26 It was faded out in the middle of Mr. Chesterton's speech. 1937 [see fade n.1 2]. 1937 Discovery Nov. 330/2 The producer of the programme making his selection of view by fading down the signal from one camera and fading up the signal from another before passing the video signal to the vision control engineer. 1958 G. Barker Two Plays 22 Music..fade in Peter's voice. 1958 Spectator 20 June 819/2 She had to be hurriedly faded out. 1971 Radio Times 7 Oct. 70/2 At the end of Choral Evensong (Radio 3) the organist is nearly always ‘faded out’. |
10. intr. Of the brakes of a motor vehicle (see fade n.1 4).
| 1940 Jrnl. Research Nat. Bureau of Standards May 543 A lining is said to fade when the coefficient of friction decreases rapidly to a low value. 1962 Which? Car Suppl. Oct. 120/2 The brakes still faded very badly. 1970 New Yorker 12 Sept. 113/2 (Advt.), Those..front disc brakes..right in the car's airstream to help them cool. So you can keep cool and not worry about them fading. |
Hence ˈfader, an apparatus for controlling (a) the volume of sound in a cinematographic film, (b) the signal in sound or television broadcasting.
| 1931 B. Brown Talking Pictures v. 102 The simplest type of fader.., where a variable resistance or potentiometer is placed across the output leads to the main amplifier. 1949 Electronic Engin. XXI. 354 The equipment consists of the recording machine and amplifier, microphones and fader unit. 1957 Encycl. Brit. IV. 218/2 In..sound broadcasting, the amplified current from each microphone is connected to a fader. 1969 W. Rutherford Gallows Set vi. 77 Terry said, ‘Fade grams. And—Take One.’.. The girl at the vision mixer pulled the fader down. |
Add: [9.] c. intr. Of a picture, etc.: to pass gradually in or out, to appear on or disappear from the screen gradually.
| 1927 Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. VI. 646 When marked fading occurred, the normally clear [television] reproduction was accompanied by ‘ghosts’ or additional images which faded in and out. 1937 G. Greene in Spectator 2 Apr. 619/2 The final shot is of two small and dubious ships on a waste of water. One of them hoots derisively, and to that maritime ‘raspberry’ the film fittingly fades out. |
11. Golf. a. trans. To play (a stroke) causing the ball to deviate from a straight course in flight: see *fade n. 5. Also, with ball as obj.
| 1953 New Yorker 20 June 69/1 Hogan faded his drive into that trap. 1975 H. Cotton Golf viii. 211/2 He liked..to fade many shots up to the flag. 1987 Golf June 39/3 Aim left and fade the ball in toward the pin. |
b. intr. Of a shot or ball: to deviate from a straight course in this way.
| 1961 in Webster. 1975 D. Langdon How to talk Golf 13 A shot that starts off in a straight trajectory but then fades inexorably to the right (or left, in the case of a left-handed player). 1977 G. Peper Scrambling Golf 63 Aim well left of your target, because the ball will fade quite a bit. 1982 S. B. Flexner Listening to Amer. 271 A ball that drifts to the right toward the end of its flight is now said to fade. |
▪ VII. † fade, v.2 Obs. rare.
[OE. fadian:—WGer. type *fadôjan, f. *fada (OHG. vata) state, condition; cf. OHG. keunvatôn to discompose, confound.]
trans. To dispose, suit, arrange.
| c 1020 Laws of Cnut, Eccl. xix, And word and weorc freonda ᵹehwylc fadiᵹe mid rihte. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 678 He and his sone Sir Ferumbras Here goddis of golde dide fade. c 1475 Partenay Prol. 164, I..my witte shal put to fade In-to other fourme. |
▪ VIII. fade, v.3 dial.
‘To dance from town to country’ (W. Cornw. Gloss.).
| 1846 Spec. Cornish Dial. 19 A passel of maidens..begin'd for..to fade so friskis. |
▪ IX. fade
obs. Sc. form of feud n.2