Meaning
Genuine, authentic, or made in good faith without fraud or deception. It works as an adjective ('a bona fide offer') and, especially in legal English, as an adverb meaning 'sincerely, without deception.' Because the Latin ablative phrasing survives intact, the expression keeps a formal, slightly legalistic flavor even in casual uses such as 'a bona fide star.' Formal to semi-formal; common in legal, business, and journalistic contexts, and sometimes used playfully for emphasis. Regional use: General English (borrowed from Latin).
Origin
Latin for 'in good faith': bona is the feminine form of bonus, 'good,' and fide is the ablative of fides, 'faith, trust,' so the phrase literally means 'with good faith.' English took it from legal Latin in the mid-sixteenth century, with Dictionary.com recording first use in 1535-45 and the OED's earliest evidence placed around 1542-43 in Acts of Parliament, functioning early on as both adverb and adjective. The derivative noun bona fides, meaning either 'good faith' or 'credentials establishing good faith,' developed in English later and is often treated as a plural ('his bona fides were questioned'). The core sense, absence of fraud or deception, has stayed remarkably stable for nearly five centuries.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- bona fides
Usage Examples
- Experts confirmed that the violin was a bona fide Stradivarius.
- Only bona fide residents may vote in the village meeting.
- The buyer acted bona fide and paid the asking price without haggling.