fainéant

[ fey-nee-uhnt; French fe-ney-ahn ]

adjective

1. Also fai·ne·ant [] idle; indolent.

noun

, plural fai·né·ants [fey, -nee-, uh, nts, fe-ney-, ahn].

1. an idler.

fainéant

/ ˈfeɪnɪənt; fɛneɑ̃ /

noun

1. a lazy person; idler

adjective

1. indolent

Derived Forms

• ˈfaineance, noun

Other Words From

• fai·ne·ance [fey, -nee-, uh, ns], 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