Faint
/feɪnt/noun
Lacking strength, clarity, or consciousness; weak or barely perceptible.
Did you know?The word ultimately traces back to Latin *fingere*, “to shape, feign, devise,” which also lies behind words like *feign* and *fiction* — a reminder that English often hides ancient ideas of making, masking, and pretending.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dheigh-
“to knead, form, shape”
Latin
Latin
fingere
“to shape, fashion, devise, feign”
Old French
Old French
feint
“feigned, counterfeit, deceitful”
Middle English
English
feint
“feigned, sham, false”
Modern English
English
faint
“weak, dizzy, lacking strength; to lose consciousness”