fairway

fair +‎ way

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛɹweɪ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛəweɪ/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)weɪ

fairway (plural fairways)

1. (golf) The area between the tee and the green, where the grass is cut short.
2. Any tract of land free from obstacles.
3. (military) A channel either from offshore, in a river, or in a harbor that has enough depth to accommodate the draft of large vessels. (JP 4-01.6)
4. (nautical) A navigable channel in a harbour, offshore etc; the usual course taken by vessels in such places.
   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

     By good fortune, paddle as I pleased, the tide was still sweeping me down; and there lay the Hispaniola right in the fairway, hardly to be missed.

   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:

     Lights of ships moved in the fairway—a great stir of lights going up and going down.

• draft
• watercraft. (JP 4-01.6)

Borrowed from English fairway.

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• Hyphenation: fair‧way

fairway m (plural fairways)

1. (golf) fairway: the area between the tee and the green, where the grass is cut short