Faineant

originally posted: 11/08/01

(FAY-nee-uhnt, French: fay-nay-AHN). adjective: Idle. noun: A do-nothing; idler.

[From French, alteration of fait-nient (literally, does nothing), by folk etymology from faignant, present participle of faindre (to feign).]

Brought to you by the A Word A Day service, which provides word nerds like me with a daily dose of etymological entertainment. With Mother Nature preparing to enter her faineant period, this seemed especially appropriate. Think of how nice, how luxurious it feels to be idle. Like snuggling down under the comforter for another hour on a weekend, just because you can. Or lying in a hammock on a warm evening (like I did nearly every night this summer). Or slouching against a cube wall to have an unhurried visit with office friends when the computers are down, as we have been here this past week.

Idleness gets a bad rap as far as I'm concerned. (Remember the term "master of time suckage" from the movie "Reality Bites"?) But if we all use the French pronunciation of faineant, maybe everyone else will think it's really cool and want to join in. Be a trendsetter.

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