Whoso fair thing does fain to see.
Spencer.
||Fai`nÈ`ant" (f`n`‰N"), a. [F.; fait he does + nÈant nothing.] Doing
||nothing; shiftless. -- n. A do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard.
||Sir W. Scott.
Faint (fnt), a. [Compar. Fainter (-r); superl. Faintest.] [OE. feint,
faint, false, faint, F. feint, p. p. of feindre to feign, suppose,
hesitate. See Feign, and cf. Feint.] 1. Lacking strength; weak;
languid; inclined to swoon; as, faint with fatigue, hunger, or thirst.
2. Wanting in courage, spirit, or energy; timorous; cowardly; dejected;
depressed; as, "Faint heart ne'er won fair lady." Old Proverb.
3. Lacking distinctness; hardly perceptible; striking the senses
feebly; not bright, or loud, or sharp, or forcible; weak; as, a faint
color, or sound.
4. Performed, done, or acted, in a weak or feeble manner; not
exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy; slight; as, faint efforts; faint
resistance.
The faint prosecution of the war.
Sir J. Davies.
Faint, n. The act of fainting, or the state of one who has fainted; a
swoon. [R.] See Fainting, n.
The saint, Who propped the Virgin in her faint.
Sir W. Scott.
Faint, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fainted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fainting.] 1. To
become weak or wanting in vigor; to grow feeble; to lose strength and
color, and the control of the bodily or mental functions; to swoon; --
sometimes with away. See Fainting, n.
Hearing the honor intended her, she fainted away.
Guardian.
If I send them away fasting . . . they will faint by the way.
Mark viii. 8.
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2. To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become
depressed or despondent.
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
Prov. xxiv. 10.