fainéant

[fey-nee-uhnt, fe-ney-ahn]

adjective

1. Also faineant idle; indolent.

noun

plural

fainéants 

1. an idler.

fainéant

/ ˈfeɪnɪənt, fɛneɑ̃ /

noun

1. a lazy person; idler

adjective

1. indolent

Other Word Forms

• faineance noun

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

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

Example Sentences

Here’s me not using faineant in a sentence.

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The fainéant gods, who dwell serenely indifferent to human affairs, and about whom men should therefore have no dread; all things, whether dead or living, even the ideas that enter the mind; are alike composed of atoms.

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This was the young “Fainéant” king of Neustria, Clothaire III.

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The office is hereditary if these qualifications are also inherited; but should the sons or brothers of the chief prove unworthy of his place, the Ainu would assemble in a "village council" and elect another strong, clear-headed, and brave man in place of the roi fainéant thus summarily deposed.

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Solmes, the fainéant of Steinkirk, was left dead on the field.

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