adv. With joy; gladly; -- with wold. [ 1913 Webster ]

He would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat. Luke xv. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fain Would I woo her, yet I dare not. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OE. fain, fagen, AS. fægen; akin to OS. fagan, Icel. faginn glad; AS. fægnian to rejoice, OS. faganōn, Icel. fagna, Goth. faginōn, cf. Goth. fahēds joy; and fr. the same root as E. fair. Srr Fair, a., and cf. Fawn to court favor. ] 1. Well-pleased; glad; apt; wont; fond; inclined. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men and birds are fain of climbing high. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To a busy man, temptation is fainto climb up together with his business. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Satisfied; contented; also, constrained. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The learned Castalio was fain to make trechers at Basle to keep himself from starving. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. To be glad ; to wish or desire. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Whoso fair thing does fain to see. Spencer. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ Cf. OF. faineance. See Fainéant. ] Do-nothingness; inactivity; indolence.

The mask of sneering faineance was gone. C. Kingsley. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ n. A do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ a. [ F.; fait he does + néant nothing. ] Doing nothing; shiftless; disinclined to work or exertion.
Syn. -- bone-idle, bone-lazy, do-nothing(prenominal), indolent, lazy, otiose, shiftless, slothful, workshy, work-shy. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

. A deity believed to be real but conceived as not acting in human affairs, hence not worshiped. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hearing the honor intended her, she fainted away. Guardian. [ 1913 Webster ]

If I send them away fasting . . . they will faint by the way. Mark viii. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent. [ 1913 Webster ]

If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Prov. xxiv. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To decay; to disappear; to vanish. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cause to faint or become dispirited; to depress; to weaken. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It faints me to think what follows. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Fainter 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Wanting in courage, spirit, or energy; timorous; cowardly; dejected; depressed; as, “Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.” Old Proverb. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Lacking distinctness; hardly perceptible; striking the senses feebly; not bright, or loud, or sharp, or forcible; weak; as, a faint color, or sound. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Performed, done, or acted, in a weak or feeble manner; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy; slight; as, faint efforts; faint resistance. [ 1913 Webster ]

The faint prosecution of the war. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]