fainéant
Americanadjective
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The situation was that in which the fainéant king accepts the act of the mayor of the palace because it is Hobson’s choice.
From The Dust Flower by Kline, Hibberd V. B. (Hibberd Van Buren)
Accomplished antiquarians and “commissioners” assisted him in his labours; but he was no roi fainéant on the editorial sofa which he so complacently describes.
From Dickens English Men of Letters by Ward, Adolphus William, Sir
Ball, the sixth boy in Number 7, was the only fainéant among them, though he did occasionally help to keep off the smaller fry.
From Eric, or Little by Little by Farrar, F. W. (Frederic William)
You call me trifler, fainéant, And bid me give my life an aim!—
From Point Lace and Diamonds by Day, Francis
The government of a native state by clerks and chuprassies, with a beautiful fainéant Political Agent for Sundays and Hindu festivals, is, I am told, a thing of the past.
From Twenty-One Days in India; and, the Teapot Series by Aberigh-Mackay, George Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
