faint

Definition

Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness

Etymology

From Middle English faynt, feynt (“weak; feeble”), from Old French faint, feint (“feigned; negligent; sluggish”), past participle of feindre, faindre (“to feign; sham; work negligently”), from Latin fingere (“to touch, handle, form, shape, frame, form in thought, imagine, conceive, contrive, devise, feign”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold”). Cognate with feign and fiction and more distantly dough.

Example Sentences

• "I felt faint after my fifth gin and tonic."
• "He almost fell faint due to the hot climate."
• "Faint heart ne'er won fair lady."