Where does “fainéant” come from?

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

fainéant (French): a lazybones; one who makes little or no effort;...

Definitions

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

Ancestry of “fainéant”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchfeignantpresent participle of feindre; lazy, idle; idler,...
2Frenchfeindreto fake; to feign
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 →