fainéant

See also: faineant

English

Noun

fainéant (plural fainéants)

1. Alternative spelling of faineant

French

Etymology

From feignant, the present participle of feindre (“to fake, to feign”), remotivated by folk etymology in fait (“does”) +‎ néant (“nothing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛ.ne.ɑ̃/ ~ /fe.ne.ɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

fainéant m (plural fainéants, feminine fainéante)

1. a lazybones; one who makes little or no effort

Derived terms

• fainéanter
• fainéantise

Adjective

fainéant (feminine fainéante, masculine plural fainéants, feminine plural fainéantes)

1. lazy
2. nonchalant
3. apathetic

Derived terms

• roi fainéant m

Further reading

• “fainéant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• enfantai