Exact historical dictionary sense
Faith in Webster's 1913 dictionary
The 1913 record labels faith as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.
[OE. feith, fayth, fay, OF. feid, feit, fei, F. foi, fr. L. fides; akin to fidere to trust, Gr. pei`qein to persuade. The ending th is perhaps due to the influence of such words as truth, health, wealth. See Bid, Bide, and cf. Confide, Defy, Fealty.]
Cross-verified historical senseIn Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "faith" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OE. feith, fayth, fay, OF. feid, feit, fei, F. foi, fr. L. fides; akin to fidere to trust, Gr. pei`qein to persuade. The ending th is perhaps due to the influence of such words as truth, health, wealth. See Bid, Bide, and cf. Confide, Defy, Fealty.]" The selected historical definition says: "Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting solely and implicitly on his authority and veracity; reliance on testimony."