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View synonyms for fainéant

fainéant

[ fey-nee-uhnt; French fe-ney-ahn ]

adjective

  1. Also fai·ne·ant [] idle; indolent.


noun

, plural fai·né·ants [fey, -nee-, uh, nts, fe-ney-, ahn].
  1. an idler.

fainéant

/ ˈfeɪnɪənt; fɛneɑ̃ /

noun

  1. a lazy person; idler


adjective

  1. indolent

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Derived Forms

  • ˈfaineance, noun

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Other Words From

  • fai·ne·ance [fey, -nee-, uh, ns], noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of fainéant1

First recorded in 1610–20; from French, earlier fait-nient, literally, “he does nothing,” folk etymology of Old French faignant “idler,” noun use of present participle of se faindre “to shirk ”; feign, faint

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Word History and Origins

Origin of fainéant1

C17: from French, modification of earlier fait-nient (he) does nothing, by folk etymology from Old French faignant shirker, from faindre to be lazy

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