fair seemingn.
/ˌfɛː ˈsiːmɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈfɛr ˈˌsimɪŋ/ Now chiefly archaic and rare.
Pleasant or attractive appearance or behaviour, esp. when intended to flatter or deceive. Also: an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > seeming
semblant?c1225
coloura1325
countenance1362
appearancec1386
seemc1440
fair seeming1484
resemblant1485
seeming1576
apparition1613
semblancea1616
imposture1643
verisimile1652
seemingness1656
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope iv. xi. f. lxxiij We must kepe our self fro all them, whiche vnder fayre semynge haue a fals herte.
1565 T. Norton & T. Sackville Gorboduc ii. sig. B.iijv The delightfull golde filled wt poyson betokeneth Flattery, whiche vnder faire seeming of pleasaunt words beareth deadly poyson.
a1630 S. Page Broken Heart (1637) 120 Many faire seemings and outsides of godlinesse are put on, whereby we deceive others, and flatter our selves.
1724 R. Savage Sir T. Overbury i. i. 6 The Statesman's Promise, or false Patriot's Zeal, Full of fair Seeming, but Delusion all.
1779 R. Jephson Law of Lombardy i. v. 12 I grant her well endow'd, And in fair seeming most pre-eminent.
1849 J. A. Froude Nemesis of Faith 215 Little happiness, at best, there is, with all this fair seeming.
1866 Amer. Bee Jrnl. Dec. 120/1 It is..far from certain whether these, notwithstanding their fair seeming, are really free from the disease.
1921 A. M. Caporn Awake, Christian Scientists! 88 You can no longer hide it under a camouflage of fair seeming.
1990 P. B. Taylor in H. Damico & A. H. Olsen New Readings on Women in Old Eng. Lit. xiii. 211 The contexts of Old English and Old Norse terms for beauty are not fixed sexually, and fair-seeming is not equated universally with fair-doing.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1484