fainéant

[ fey-nee-uhnt; French fe-ney-ahn ]
See synonyms for: fainéantfaineance on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. Also fai·ne·ant [fey-nee-uhnt]. /ˈfeɪ ni ənt/. idle; indolent.

noun,plural fai·né·ants [fey-nee-uhnts; French fe-ney-ahn]. /ˈfeɪ ni ənts; French fɛ neɪˈɑ̃/.
  1. an idler.

Origin of fainéant

1
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 ”; see feign, faint

Other words from fainéant

  • fai·ne·ance [fey-nee-uhns], /ˈfeɪ ni əns/, noun

Words Nearby fainéant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fainéant in a sentence

  • While a roi faineant may fulfil effectively all the essential duties of sovereignty, an autocrate faineant is an absurdity.

    Russia | Donald Mackenzie Wallace
  • Yours is the faineant spirit of the decadent, masquerading in the garb of a sham primitivism.

    A Lost Leader | E. Phillips Oppenheim
  • I take it as a kingdom, and I cannot be roi faineant, with a steward for maire du palais.

    Kenelm Chillingly, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • They were the Mayors of that Palace; he only le roi faineant.

    Lucretia, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • I'd rather marry the roughest viking that ever sailed the seas than the most accomplished faineant.

    The Wolf's Long Howl | Stanley Waterloo

British Dictionary definitions for fainéant

fainéant

/ (ˈfeɪnɪənt, French fɛneɑ̃) /


noun
  1. a lazy person; idler

adjective
  1. indolent

Origin of fainéant

1
C17: from French, modification of earlier fait-nient (he) does nothing, by folk etymology from Old French faignant shirker, from faindre to be lazy

Derived forms of fainéant

  • faineance or faineancy, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012