BIAS, something oblique or slanting (Fr. biais, of unknown origin) . The term is used especially of a piece of cloth cut obliquely across the texture, or of a seam of two such pieces brought together. In the game of bowls (q.v.) it is applied alike to the one-sided construction of the bowl, and to the slanting line the bowl takes when thrown. The figurative sense of the word, prejudice or undue leaning to one side, is derived from this bowling term.