different between infirm vs faint

English

Etymology

From Middle English infirme, from Latin infirmus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?f?m/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m

Adjective

infirm (comparative infirmer, superlative infirmest)

1. Weak or ill, not in good health.

   He was infirm of body but still keen of mind, and though it looked like he couldn't walk across the room, he crushed me in debate.

   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act III, Scene 2,^[1]

     […] Here I stand your slave,

     A poor, infirm, weak, and despis’d old man.

2. Irresolute; weak of mind or will.
   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act II, Scene 2,^[2]

     Infirm of purpose!

     Give me the daggers: […]

   • 1797, Edmund Burke, A Third Letter to a Member of the Present Parliament: On the Proposals for Peace with the Regicide Directory of France, London: F.&C. Rivington, p. 30,^[3]

     […] vehement passion does not always indicate an infirm judgment.

3. Frail; unstable; insecure.
   • 1667, Robert South, “The Practice of Religion Enforced by Reason” in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, London: Thomas Bennet, p. 3,^[4]

     He who fixes upon false Principles, treads upon Infirm ground, and so sinks […]

Synonyms

• crank, ill, sick, unwell

Related terms

• infirmary

Translations

Verb

infirm (third-person singular simple present infirms, present participle infirming, simple past and past participle infirmed)

1. To contradict, to provide proof that something is not.

   The thought is that you see an episode of observation, experiment, or reasoning as confirming or infirming a hypothesis depending on whether your probability for it increases or decreases during the episode.

Synonyms

• disconfirm

Antonyms

• confirm

Derived terms

• infirmation

Translations

Anagrams

• Firmin

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in?firm/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French infirme, from Latin infirmus.

Adjective

infirm m or n (feminine singular infirm?, masculine plural infirmi, feminine and neuter plural infirme)

1. crippled

   Synonyms: invalid, schilod, beteag

Declension

Related terms

• infirmitate

Noun

infirm m (plural infirmi, feminine equivalent infirm?)

1. cripple, invalid

   Synonyms: invalid, schilod

Declension

Etymology 2

Inflected form of infirma (“to invalidate”).

Verb

infirm

1. inflection of infirma:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. first-person singular present subjunctive

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fe?nt/
• Rhymes: -e?nt
• Homophone: feint

Etymology 1

From Middle English faynt, feynt (“weak; feeble”), from Old French faint, feint (“feigned; negligent; sluggish”), past participle of feindre, faindre (“to feign; sham; work negligently”), from Latin fingere (“to touch, handle, usually form, shape, frame, form in thought, imagine, conceive, contrive, devise, feign”).

Adjective

faint (comparative fainter, superlative faintest)

1. (of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness

2. Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
   • 1789, Robert Burns, to Dr. Blacklock

     Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.

3. Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp

4. Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy

5. Slight; minimal.
   • 2005, Lesley Brown (translator), Plato, Sophist, 243b.

     do you have the faintest understanding of what they mean?

Derived terms

• damn with faint praise
• fainten
• faint-hearted
• faintish
• faintling
• faintly
• faintness

Translations

Noun

faint (plural faints)

1. The act of fainting, syncope.

2. (rare) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.

Derived terms

• faintful
• faintless
• faintsome

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English fainten, feynten, from the adjective (see above).

Verb

faint (third-person singular simple present faints, present participle fainting, simple past and past participle fainted)

1. (intransitive) To lose consciousness through a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions).

   • If I send them away fasting […] they will faint by the way.

   • September 22 1713, Richard Steele, The Guardian No. 167

     But upon hearing the Honour which he intended her , she fainted away , and fell down as Dead at his Feet

2. (intransitive) To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
3. (intransitive) To decay; to disappear; to vanish.
   • November 12, 1711, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell

     Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye.

Synonyms

• (to lose consciousness): pass out, swoon, sweb, black out, keel over
• queal

Translations

Further reading

• faint in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• faint in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• faint at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Fanti, fitna

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German v?nt, v?ent, v?ant, from Old High German f?ant, f?and, from Proto-Germanic *fijandz (“enemy, fiend”). Cognate with German Feind, English fiend.

Noun

fàint m (plural fainte)

1. (Sette Comuni) enemy, fiend

References

• “faint” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

Welsh

Alternative forms

• pa faint (literary)

Etymology

Shortened from pa faint (“what amount”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vai?nt/

Pronoun

faint

1. how much, how many

Usage notes

Faint means either how many, followed by o and the plural form of a noun with soft mutation, or how much, preceding o and the singular form of a noun, again with soft mutation. Sawl corresponds only to English how many and is followed by the singular form of a noun.