bona fides

bona fides
/boh"nah fee"des/; Eng. /boh"neuh fuy"deez/ or, esp. for 2, /boh"neuh fuydz', bon"euh/
1. (italics) Latin. (used with a sing. v.) good faith; absence of fraud or deceit; the state of being exactly as claims or appearances indicate: The bona fides of this contract is open to question. Cf. mala fides.
2. (sometimes italics) (used with a pl. v.) the official papers, documents, or other items that prove authenticity, legitimacy, etc., as of a person or enterprise; credentials: All our bona fides are on file with the SEC.
Usage. BONA FIDES is originally a Latin phrase meaning "good faith." FIDES is singular in Latin and has been used as such in English. At least partially because its -es ending makes BONA FIDES look and sound like a plural, it has developed the plural sense "credentials." This plural use, although criticized by some usage guides, has been increasing in recent decades in all varieties of speech and writing.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • bona fides — bona fide, bona fides 1. Bona fide is an adjectival and (now rarely) adverbial phrase meaning ‘in good faith’ and hence ‘genuine(ly)’ (a bona fide tourist); bona fides is a noun phrase meaning ‘good faith’ and hence ‘honest intention’. Bona fides …   Modern English usage

  • bona fides — bona fi‧des [ˌbəʊnə ˈfaɪdɪz ǁ ˌboʊnə ˈfaɪdiz, ˈfaɪdz] noun [plural] LAW if you check someone s bona fides, you make sure they are the person they say they are or that what they say is true * * * bona fides UK US noun [plural] LAW ► evidence that… …   Financial and business terms

  • bona fides — bo·na fi·des /ˌbō nə fī ˌdēzcommonly bō nə ˌfīdz/ n [Latin]: good faith the fact that the plaintiff conducted an investigation demonstrated its bona fides Jeannette Glass Co. v. Indemnity Ins. Co. of North America, 88 A.2d 407 (1952) (dissent)… …   Law dictionary

  • bona fides — (izg. bȍna fȉdes) ž DEFINICIJA pravn. dobra vjera, načelo po kojem se obveze (utanačene ugovorom, arbitražom ili sudskom presudom) moraju ispunjavati pošteno i nedvosmisleno (bona fide), bez nastojanja da se izigra puni smisao i svrha obveze… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Bona fides — (lat.), die Handlungsweise, welche aus der Überzeugung mit rechtlichen Leuten zu verkehren u. selbst innerhalb der Grenzen seines Rechts zu handeln, hervorgeht. Daher Bonae fidei possessor, ein Besitzer, der sich in dem Glauben befindet, daß der… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • bona fides — bona fi|des [ˌbəunə ˈfaıdi:z US ˌbounə , ˈbounə faıdz] n [plural] BrE [Date: 1800 1900; : Latin; Origin: good faith ] if you check someone s bona fides, you check that they are who they say they are, and that their intentions are good and honest… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Bona fides — (Бона фидес)  латинский юридический термин, означающий «честные средства», «добрые услуги», «добросовестность», который выражает нравственную и моральную честность, веру в правдивость или ложность суждения или сущности мнения, или… …   Википедия

  • bona fides — by 1838, erroneous English pluralization of BONA FIDE (Cf. bona fide), as though it were a noun meaning guarantee of good faith …   Etymology dictionary

  • Bona fides — (lat., »der gute Glaube«), Treu und Glauben, die Überzeugung, daß man sich bei einer bestimmten Handlung oder in einem bestimmten Zustand in seinem guten Recht befinde; daher bona fide, in gutem Glauben …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Bona fides — Bona fides, lat., guter Glaube, ein Rechtsausdruck, bezeichnend den guten Glauben, daß man bei einer Handlung im völligen Rechte sei: daher bona fide handeln …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • bona fides — [bō′nə fī′dēz΄, bō′nefīdz΄] n. [< BONA FIDE] 1. good faith; honesty, sincerity, reliability, etc. 2. proof or proofs of honesty, genuineness, etc …   English World dictionary

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