Etymologically
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feinte

Etymology and origin of the French word feinte

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1223, Gautier de Coinci
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French feinte
English feint

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fɛ̃t/[1]

Forms

feinte f (plural feintes)[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle of feindre used as a noun,[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin fingere (“to shape; to invent; to pretend”).[5][7] Compare Old Spanish and Italian finta and Old Occitan fenha.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gautier de Coinci (about 1223) has fables et faintes, a poetic invention, a sense used until the 17th century.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Before 1544 (Marot) it was the act of giving an appearance contrary to the truth (parler sans feinte), and Marguerite de Navarre used it for a manoeuvre to mislead someone.[2][9][8] The sense “deceptive move” became a fencing term in 1680 (Richelet), then a term of military tactics and other sports (a boxer's or footballer's feint), and in the early 20th century a general word for “trick”.[2][3][10] From it came feinter (1859 in sport, “to trick”, 1931) and feinteur (1924).[3] English feint was taken from French in the 1670s, and as a fencing term in the 1680s.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1223 – “Fiction”, in Gautier de Coinci.[2]
  • Before 1544 – “Pretence”, in Marot.[2]
  • 1670s – English feint.[7]
  • 1680 – In fencing, in Richelet.[2]
  • 1859 – Feinter in sport.[3]
  • Early 20th century – “Trick”.[3]
  • 1931 – Feinter “to trick”.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (literary) Pretence, dissimulation: parler sans feinte.[11][10]
  2. (sport, military) A feint, dummy.[10][1]
  3. (familiar) A trick, ruse: faire une feinte à qqn.[11][10]
  4. (textiles) A flaw where the weft is missing.[11]

Word family

  • feinter
  • feinteur
  • feindre
  • feint
  • fiction

Usage notes

Feinte is also the twaite shad (alose feinte), so called because it resembles the shad.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 553b
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Feinte.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/feinte. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·