faint
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /feɪnt/
Audio (Southern England) (file) Audio (GA) (file) - Homophone: feint
- Rhymes: -eɪnt
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English faynt, feynt (“weak; feeble”), from Old French faint, feint (“feigned; negligent; sluggish”), past participle of feindre, faindre (“to feign; sham; work negligently”), from Latin fingere (“to touch, handle, form, shape, frame, form in thought, imagine, conceive, contrive, devise, feign”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold”). Cognate with feign and fiction and more distantly dough.
Adjective[edit]
faint (comparative fainter, superlative faintest)
- (of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
- I felt faint after my fifth gin and tonic.
- Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
- 1789, Robert Burns, to Dr. Blacklock:
- Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.
- Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp
- There was a faint red light in the distance.
- Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy
- faint efforts
- faint resistance
- Slight; minimal.
- (archaic) Sickly, so as to make a person feel faint.
- 1843, Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit:
- Happening to pass a fruiterer’s on their way; the door of which was open, though the shop was by this time shut; one of them remarked how faint the peaches smelled.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Noun[edit]
faint (plural faints)
- The act of fainting, syncope.
- She suffered another faint.
- (rare) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle English fainten, feynten, from the adjective (see above).
Verb[edit]
faint (third-person singular simple present faints, present participle fainting, simple past and past participle fainted)
- (intransitive) To lose consciousness through a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions).
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 8:8:
- If I send them away fasting […] they will faint by the way.
- September 22 1713, Richard Steele, The Guardian No. 167
- But upon hearing the Honour which he intended her , she fainted away , and fell down as Dead at his Feet
- (intransitive) To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 24:10:
- If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
- (intransitive) To decay; to disappear; to vanish.
- November 12, 1711, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell
- Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye.
- November 12, 1711, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Further reading[edit]
- “faint”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “faint”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “faint”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams[edit]
Cimbrian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle High German vīnt, vīent, vīant, from Old High German fīant, fīand, from Proto-Germanic *fijandz (“enemy, fiend”). Cognate with German Feind, English fiend.
Noun[edit]
faint m (plural fainte)
- (Sette Comuni) enemy, fiend
- Biibel péssor möchte zeinan de bèlt as da börn khòone fainte?
- How much better would the world be if there were no enemies?
References[edit]
- “faint” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Welsh[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- pa faint (literary)
Etymology[edit]
Shortened from pa faint (“what amount”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
faint
- how much, how many
- am faint o amser ― for how long (literally, “for how much time”)
- am faint o'r gloch ― at what time (literally, “at how many o'clock”)
Usage notes[edit]
Faint means either how many, followed by o and the plural form of a noun with soft mutation, or how much, preceding o and the singular form of a noun, again with soft mutation. Sawl corresponds only to English how many and is followed by the singular form of a noun.
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