Feint or Faint?

Posted by: Officer DBL on 06 March 2008

One for you wordsmiths.

On my desk I have a niceday notebook labelled "feint ruled". I think that this is a wrong usage of the word "feint" and that it should be "faint".

Can anyone cast some light on the correct word that should be used?

Rob
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by BigH47
feint is not very noticeable lines.Therefore feint ruled is correct a lightly ruled page.

faint is falling over with lack of blood some where. Brain maybe?
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by Officer DBL
I take feint to mean a gesture or action intended to deceive - as in a fencing move or a tactic on the battlefield. In both cases I recognise that you could faint due to loss of blood Winker
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by BigH47
quote:
I take feint to mean a gesture or action intended to deceive - as in a fencing move or a tactic on the battlefield.

You don't want to rule a page with a rapier or a tank though. Winker

Perhaps a more everyday use is- needing a telescope to see feint objects in the night sky.
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by TomK
And to add to the confusion.
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by Chief Chirpa
From the OED:

feint adj. denoting writing paper printed with faint lines as a guide for handwriting.
Origin C19: Var: of faint. (my italics)

faint adj. 1 (of a sight, smell, or sound) barely perceptible.

Faintly absurd, really. Etymology doesn't mean what it used to.

Good one, Rob.
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by Andrew Randle
quote:
Originally posted by Rob B:
I take feint to mean a gesture or action intended to deceive - as in a fencing move or a tactic on the battlefield. In both cases I recognise that you could faint due to loss of blood Winker


I was going to say the same with regards the fencing terminology. A French-derived term I believe.

Andrew
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by Adam Meredith
quote:
Originally posted by Chief Chirpa:
Etymology doesn't mean what it used to.


I think it does: -

etymology /EtI"mQl<schwa>dZi/ n.LME. [OFr. ethimologie (mod. étymologie) f. L etimologia (med.L ethymologia, ethim-) f. Gk etumologia, f. etumologos student of etymology, f. etumon: see next, -OLOGY.]1 An account of, or the facts relating to, the formation or development of a word and its meaning; the process of tracing the history of a word. LME.<unknown>b The original meaning of a word as shown by its etymology. L16–E18. 2 The branch of grammar that deals with the way individual words are inflected. arch. L16. 3 The branch of linguistics that deals with the etymologies of words. M17.
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by Adam Meredith
quote:
Originally posted by Andrew Randle:
A French-derived term I believe.


You wish to make something of this?
Posted on: 06 March 2008 by Chief Chirpa
Easy, D'Artagnan.