Part 17

Fain Would I woo her, yet I dare not.

Shak.

Fain, v. t. & i. To be glad ; to wish or desire. [Obs.]

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.

3. To decay; to disappear; to vanish.

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

Pope.

Faint (?), v. t. To cause to faint or become dispirited; to depress; to weaken. [Obs.]