fainéant

American  

[fey-nee-uhnt, fe-ney-ahn] / ˈfeɪ ni ənt, fɛ neɪˈɑ̃ /

adjective

1. Also faineant idle; indolent.

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noun

fainéants plural

1. an idler.

fainéant British  

/ ˈfeɪnɪənt, fɛneɑ̃ /

noun

1. a lazy person; idler

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adjective

1. indolent

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• faineance
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fainéants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fainéant

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

Example Sentences

The lord no doubt was a fool, and filled the most foolish place in the world,—that of a silly fainéant earl.

From The Landleaguers by Trollope, Anthony

Then Aunt Ju took her seat, and was able for the next hour and a half to occupy her arm-chair with gratifying fainéant dignity.

From Is He Popenjoy? by Trollope, Anthony

You call me trifler, fainéant, And bid me give my life an aim!—

From Point Lace and Diamonds by Day, Francis

Bibulus, a colleague of Julius Cæsar; a mere cipher, a fainéant.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

To be a fainéant ruler was in direct antagonism both to his conscience and his predilections.

From The Prime Minister by Trollope, Anthony