fainéant
See also: faineant
English
Noun
fainéant (plural fainéants)
- 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)
- a lazybones; one who makes little or no effort
Derived terms
- fainéanter
- fainéantise
Adjective
fainéant (feminine fainéante, masculine plural fainéants, feminine plural fainéantes)
- lazy
- nonchalant
- 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