fainéant

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fai·né·ant

(fā′nā-äN′)

adj.

Given to doing nothing; lazy.

One who is lazy or idle.

[French, alteration (influenced by fait néant, does nothing) of Old French faignant, idler, from present participle of faindre, feindre, to feign; see feign.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fainéant

(ˈfeɪnɪənt; French fɛneɑ̃)

a lazy person; idler

adj

indolent

[C17: from French, modification of earlier fait-nient (he) does nothing, by folk etymology from Old French faignant shirker, from faindre to be lazy]

ˈfaineance, ˈfaineancy n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fai•né•ant

(ˌfeɪ neɪˈɑ̃)

adj., n., pl. -ants (-ˈɑ̃z) adj.

1. Also, fai•ne•ant (ˈfeɪ ni ənt) idle; indolent.

2. an idler.

[1610–20; < French, earlier fait-nient, literally, he does nothing]

fai′ne•ance, n.

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Adj.

faineant - disinclined to work or exertion; "faineant kings under whose rule the country languished"; "an indolent hanger-on"; "too lazy to wash the dishes"; "shiftless idle youth"; "slothful employees"; "the unemployed are not necessarily work-shy"

indolent, slothful, work-shy, lazy, otiose

idle - not in action or at work; "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind"

fainéant

adjective

Resistant to exertion and activity:

idle, indolent, lazy, shiftless, slothful, sluggard, sluggish.

Informal: do-nothing.

Idiom: bone lazy.

noun

A self-indulgent person who spends time avoiding work or other useful activity:

bum, drone, good-for-nothing, idler, layabout, loafer, ne'er-do-well, no-good, slugabed, sluggard, wastrel.

Informal: do-little, do-nothing, lazybones, slug.

Slang: slouch.

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References in classic literature ?

In short, he had hitherto acted the part rather of a spectator than of a party in the tournament, a circumstance which procured him among the spectators the name of Le Noir Faineant, or the Black Sluggard.

Le Noir Faineant then turned his horse upon Athelstane of Coningsburgh; and his own sword having been broken in his encounter with Front-de-B uf, he wrenched from the hand of the bulky Saxon the battle-axe which he wielded, and, like one familiar with the use of the weapon, bestowed him such a blow upon the crest, that Athelstane also lay senseless on the field.

It being now the duty of Prince John to name the knight who had done best, he determined that the honour of the day remained with the knight whom the popular voice had termed Le Noir Faineant. It was pointed out to the Prince, in impeachment of this decree, that the victory had been in fact won by the Disinherited Knight, who, in the course of the day, had overcome six champions with his own hand, and who had finally unhorsed and struck down the leader of the opposite party.

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No more would you be beaten by the faineant and shady feudal lords masquerading as CDA leaders, and no more would you pay through your nose to obtain the certificate of occupancy.

Edo And The Choice Before It

These days, he's a Punjab Minister, in the cabinet of fellow Sidhu Amarinder Singh, the faineant Maharaja of Patiala.

Stuff happens, so why not tabdeeli?

comme je l'ai dit au debut, je l'avoue sans gene, sans honte et sans peur: Je suis un faineant! Voila, je l'ai dit!

Le flemmard

a) Le menteur et la rouspeteuse and d) La fatigante et le faineant Le menteur et la rouspeteuse tells the story of a father and his daughter; La fatigante et le faineant is told by an elderly lady and her teenage neighbour.

Try this quiz: la litterature quebecoise en 12 questions

[section] 54 (6.6b.7-7a.4) Faineant ministers in the government are compared to parasites eating human beings from inside (cf.

The date, authorship, and literary structure of the Great Peace Scripture Digest

The accountant retrieves the originals, takes photocopies, and I head back to Sourpuss, the lobby forebodingly faineant when you're clutching No.

Open sesame

Aux Eetats-Unis, "Bob" est ingenieur informaticien, mais egalement un faineant tres intelligent.