# fond

Pronunciation: say "FOND" US /fɑnd/, UK /fɒnd/

## Adjective

1. Having a liking or affection for someone or something.
   - Simple: Liking someone or something very much.
   - _He is fond of long walks along the coast._
   - _The children were fond of their new teacher from the first day._
2. Feeling or showing warm, tender affection, sometimes in an indulgent or doting way.
   - Simple: Feeling or showing warm love, sometimes so much that you give someone everything they want.
   - _He wrote a fond letter to his sister every week._
   - _Their fond reunion at the airport moved everyone nearby._
3. Doted on; regarded with affection by others.
   - Simple: Loved and treasured by other people.
5. Foolish or naive; now used mainly of a hope or belief that is unlikely to come true ('a fond hope').
   - Simple: Hopeful in a silly way. Used of a wish or belief that probably won't come true.
   - _They set out in the fond hope that the storm would pass by morning._
   - _She laughed off his fond notions about getting rich overnight._

## Noun

4. The brown residue that forms in a pan from cooking meats and vegetables.
   - Simple: The brown bits left stuck in a pan after cooking meat or vegetables.
   - _After searing the steak, she deglazed the pan to lift the fond into a sauce._
   - _The fond clinging to the skillet gave the gravy its rich color._

## Noun

6. A fund, stock, or store of something kept in reserve. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A supply of money or goods kept for later use.
9. The foundation, bottom, or groundwork of something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The base or bottom that something is built on.

## Verb

7. To have a foolish affection for someone; to dote on. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To love someone in a foolish, doting way.
8. To caress, stroke, or gently fondle. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To touch or stroke someone in a loving way.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A group of records that share the same origin or provenance.
- (noun) The background design that forms the ground of a piece of lace.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5, 7–8** — Fonnen ("to be foolish, be simple, dote") was a Middle English verb, and its past participle, fond or fonned, gives us the word. It can be analyzed as fon plus -ed.
**Meanings 4, 6, 9** — The word came from French and goes back in the end to Latin fundus. Fund and fundus are doublets of it.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fond (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).