Where does “fainéant” come from?

fainéant (English) comes from Old French fay neant, from Old French feignant, from Old French feindre, from Latin fingere, from Proto-Indo-European dʰeyǵʰ- — to knead; to form, to shape.

fainéant (English): Alternative spelling of faineant

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of faineant

Ancestry of “fainéant”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchfay neantfaineant; lazybones
2Old Frenchfeignantidler
3Old Frenchfeindreto feign
4Latinfingeresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeyǵʰ-to knead; to form, to shape

Words derived from “fainéant”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeyǵʰ- →Every word from Latin fingere →Every word from Old French feindre →