feindre

Forms

feindre^[1] Old French feindre, faindre.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French feindre, inherited from Latin fingō (“to shape, mould, imagine, invent falsely”).^[3][1][4] Rey connects the Latin verb with an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *dheig'h- (“to shape clay”).^[5][6] Littré explains the sense of the verb as going from “shaping” to “shaping an appearance”.^[7]

Cognate with Italian fingere, Old Occitan fenher, Spanish fingir and Portuguese fingir.^[7][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), reflexive with a complement: Il se feint mort, si gist entre les altres “he pretends to be dead and lies among the others”.^[3][7] Rey also gives the reflexive sense “to imagine oneself, believe oneself” from the same date.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb meant “to pretend”, with or without the aim of deceiving;^[5][3][10] feindre que is found in 1280, and the sense “to give out as real a feeling one does not have” about 1462.^[5][3][10] The Latin sense “to make up, invent” is found from 1176–81 (ceste mançonge voldra faindre “he will want to invent this lie”) and lasted into the 18th century.^[3][5]

In the Middle Ages se feindre, especially in negative sentences, meant “to hesitate”, and in the classical period feindre à had the same sense.^[9][5][7] The sense “to lack courage, be idle” (about 1176) survives in fainéant.^[5] The past participle feint became an adjective “sham, false”, especially in architecture (1600).^[3] English feign goes back to the Old French verb.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Se feindre mort “to pretend to be dead” in the Chanson de Roland.^[3]
• 1176–81 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it for inventing a lie.^[3]
• c. 1190 – The derivative feintise “dissimulation” appears.^[5]
• 1223 – Feinte is used for a poetic invention.^[5]
• c. 1265 – Brunetto Latini uses it transitively, “to imagine”.^[10][5]
• 1280 – Feindre que is recorded.^[3]
• c. 1462 – The Cent Nouvelles nouvelles use it for showing a feeling one does not have.^[10][5]
• late 15th century – Commynes uses feindre à “to hesitate”.^[10][5]
• 1600 – Feint “sham” is used in architecture.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To feign, simulate a feeling or state one does not have: feindre la surprise (to feign surprise).^[11][12][3]
2. Feindre de + infinitive: to pretend to: Il feignit de dormir (He pretended to be asleep).^[11][12]
3. (rare) Feindre que: to act as if something were so.^[3]
4. (intransitive, literary) To dissemble, hide what one feels or thinks: Elle ne sait pas feindre (She cannot dissemble).^[11][12]
5. (obsolete) To make up, invent, imagine.^[11][7]
6. (obsolete) To hesitate.^[7][5]

Word family

• feinte
• feintise

Related words

• fainéant
• fiction
• Latin fingō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 553a
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)