faint
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /feɪnt/
Audio (Southern England): (file) Audio (General American): (file) - Homophone: feint
- Rhymes: -eɪnt
Etymology 1
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
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
- Synonyms: dull, wan; see also Thesaurus:dim
- 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.
Alternative forms
- (barely perceptible): feint (for printed lines)
Derived terms
Translations
lacking strength; inclined to lose consciousness
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wanting in courage
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lacking distinctness, hardly perceptible
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performed in a weak or feeble manner
Noun
faint (plural faints)
- The act of fainting, syncope.
- She suffered another faint.
- (rare) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.
Derived terms
Translations
the act of fainting
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Etymology 2
From Middle English fainten, feynten, from the adjective (see above).
Verb
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.
- 1713 September 22, Richard Steele, The Guardian, number 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
Derived terms
Translations
to lose consciousness
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to sink
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Further reading
- “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
Etymology
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
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
- “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
Alternative forms
- pa faint (literary)
Etymology
Pronunciation
Pronoun
faint m
Usage notes
- Faint means "how many" when followed by o and the plural form of a countable noun and "how much" followed o and an uncountable noun.
- Faint o gathod? ― How many cats?
- Faint o goffi? ― How much coffee?
- Sawl, on the other hand, corresponds solely to English "how many" and is followed by the singular form of a countable noun.
- Sawl cath? ― How many cats?
- Sawl coffi? ― How many coffees?
Derived terms
- faint bynnag (“however many”)
- ta faint (“however many”)
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