Bias Comes From a Weighted Bowling Ball
Bias is a tendency to favour one side. The word comes from the deliberate lopsidedness of a bowls ball.
Bias is a tendency to favour one side unfairly. The word comes from the game of bowls: a bowls ball is deliberately made asymmetric so that it curves as it slows, and that built-in lopsidedness is called its *bias*. The word moved from the ball to any built-in tendency, keeping the sense of something skewed by design rather than accident. In sewing, *cut on the bias* means cut diagonally across the weave, which makes fabric stretch and drape.
- An unfair tendency. *Political bias.*
- A bowls ball's weighting. *The bias.*
- A diagonal cut. *Cut on the bias.*
- Unbiased — impartial. *Unbiased.*
- French — *biais*, oblique. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | bias | A bias. |
| Plural | biases | Biases. |
| Verb | bias | Biased. |
| Adjective | biased | Biased. |
| French | biais | Oblique. |
- The report showed clear bias.Unfairness.
- The bowl curves because of its bias.Bowls.
- The skirt is cut on the bias.Sewing.
Kinds of cognitive bias
- Confirmation bias — favouring evidence that fits existing beliefs
- Survivorship bias — studying only what remains visible
- Anchoring — over-relying on the first figure heard
- Availability bias — judging by what comes easily to mind
- All describe a built-in curve, as in the bowls ball
French *biais*, oblique or slanting, of uncertain origin, applied first to the weighting of a bowls ball.
Where does bias come from?
From lawn bowls, where a ball is deliberately made asymmetric so it curves. That built-in lopsidedness was called its bias.
What does cut on the bias mean?
Cut diagonally across the weave of a fabric, which makes it stretch and hang differently from a straight cut.