fond1

[fond] /fɒnd/
adjective, fonder, fondest.
1.
having a liking or affection for (usually followed by of):
to be fond of animals.
2.
loving; affectionate:
to give someone a fond look.
3.
excessively tender or overindulgent; doting:
a fond parent.
4.
cherished with strong or unreasoning feeling:
to nourish fond hopes of becoming president.
5.
Archaic. foolish or silly.
6.
Archaic. foolishly credulous or trusting.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English fond, fonned (past participle of fonnen to be foolish, orig., to lose flavor, sour)
Synonyms
2. cherishing. 5. infatuated. 6. gullible.

fond2

[fond; French fawn] /fɒnd; French fɔ̃/
noun, plural fonds [fondz; French fawn] /fɒndz; French fɔ̃/ (Show IPA)
1.
a background or groundwork, especially of lace.
2.
Obsolete, fund; stock.
Origin
1655-65; < French; see fund
Examples from the web for fond
  • His style is diffusive, swelling, and full of epithets: and he is fond of comparisons and allegories.
  • The western world is fond of dictators to simplify their dealing with a nation.
  • The western world is fond of natural resource rich countries.
  • Britons are especially fond of psychoactive substances.
  • fond of one-liners, he said his best book was always the one he was about to write.
  • fond as they are of saying where they are from, they do not typically wallow in sentimental localism.
  • Some people, including me, were not too fond of the message it sent.
  • Art, they are fond of reminding us, is not a business.
  • Humans often anthropomorphize the objects they use, especially when they become fond of their interaction with those objects.
  • The challenge: dealing with an autocratic regime that's not especially fond of human rights.
British Dictionary definitions for fond

fond1

/fɒnd/
adjective
1.
(postpositive) foll by of. predisposed (to); having a liking (for)
2.
loving; tender: a fond embrace
3.
indulgent; doting: a fond mother
4.
(of hopes, wishes, etc) cherished but unlikely to be realized: he had fond hopes of starting his own business
5.
(archaic or dialect)
  1. foolish
  2. credulous
Derived Forms
fondly, adverb
fondness, noun
Word Origin
C14 fonned, from fonnen to be foolish, from fonne a fool

fond2

/fɒnd; French fɔ̃/
noun
1.
the background of a design, as in lace
2.
(obsolete) fund; stock
Word Origin
C17: from French, from Latin fundus bottom; see fund
Word Origin and History for fond
adj.

mid-14c., originally "foolish, silly," from past tense of fonnen "to fool, be foolish," perhaps from Middle English fonne "fool" (early 14c.), of uncertain origin; or possibly related to fun.

Meaning evolved by 1590 via "foolishly tender" to "having strong affections for." Another sense of fonne was "to lose savor," which may be the original meaning of the word (e.g. Wyclif: "Gif þe salt be fonnyd it is not worþi," c.1380). Related: Fonder; fondest.