Past tense of 'fair'; made smooth, sleek, or streamlined (especially in aeronautics or maritime contexts) to reduce drag.
From Old English 'fægr' (smooth, pleasant) through Middle English 'fair,' with the past tense suffix '-ed.' In modern technical usage, 'fair' means to make aerodynamically smooth.
When aircraft and ship engineers 'fair' a surface, they're making it smooth—the word comes from the ancient meaning of 'fair' as 'beautiful and smooth,' showing how technical jargon often preserves ancient meanings in specialized ways.
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