Fairness
Etymology
From Old English “fæger,” meaning “beautiful, pleasing, attractive.” The sense of “beautiful” came first; “free of bias, just” is a later medieval extension, as if what is even-handed is also what is pleasing to look upon. The old meaning survives in “a fair maiden” and “fair weather.”
noun · /FAIR-nis/
Even-handed, impartial treatment in which like cases are treated alike and no one is arbitrarily favored.
What it names
Use it for the procedural virtue — a fair process, a fair share, a fair hearing — where the test is consistency and lack of bias.
Example
The teacher graded blind to keep things fair, so friendships could not sway the marks.
Related idea
Fairness is about the evenness of the procedure; justice is about the rightness of the result. Splitting a stolen pie equally is fair to the thieves and unjust to its owner.