different between old vs faint

English

Alternative forms

• ol', ol, ole
• olde (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English old, ald, from Old English ald, eald (“old, aged, ancient, antique, primeval”), from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown-up”), originally a participle form, from Proto-Indo-European *h?eltós (“grown, tall, big”). Cognate with Scots auld (“old”), North Frisian ool, ual, uul (“old”), Saterland Frisian oold (“old”), West Frisian âld (“old”), Dutch oud (“old”), Low German old (“old”), German alt (“old”), Swedish äldre (“older, elder”), Icelandic eldri (“older, elder”), Latin altus (“high, tall, grown big, lofty”). Related to eld.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /???ld/, /???ld/, /???ld/
• (US) enPR: ?ld, IPA^(key): /?o?ld/
• Rhymes: -??ld

Adjective

old (comparative older or elder, superlative (US, dialectal) oldermost or oldest or eldest)

1. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
   1. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.

   2. Of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.

2. Having been used and thus no longer new or unused.

3. Having existed or lived for the specified time.

4. (heading) Of an earlier time.
   1. Former, previous.
      • 1994, Michael Grumley, Life Drawing

        But over my old life, a new life had formed.

   2. That is no longer in existence.

   3. Obsolete; out-of-date.

   4. Familiar.
      • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 37:

        Adrian thought it worth while to try out his new slang. ‘I say, you fellows, here's a rum go. Old Biffo was jolly odd this morning. He gave me a lot of pi-jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea. No rotting! He did really.’

   5. (Britain) Being a graduate or alumnus of a school, especially a public school.
5. Tiresome after prolonged repetition.

6. Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.
7. A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive. (Mostly in idioms like good old, big old and little old, any old and some old.)

8. (obsolete) Excessive, abundant.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5 Scene 2:

     URSULA: Madam, you must come to your uncle. Yonder's old coil at home: it is proved, my Lady Hero hath been falsely accused, the prince and Claudio mightily abused;

Synonyms

• (having existed for a long period of time): ancient, long in the tooth; see also Thesaurus:old
• (having lived for many years): aged, ageing / aging, elderly, long in the tooth, on in years; see also Thesaurus:elderly
• (having existed or lived for the specified time): aged, of age
• (former): erstwhile, ex-, former, one-time, past; see also Thesaurus:former
• (out-of-date): antiquated, obsolete (of words), outdated; see also Thesaurus:obsolete

Antonyms

• (having existed for a long period of time): brand new, fresh, new
• (having lived for many years): young
• (former): current, latest, new

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

old (plural olds)

1. (with the, invariable plural only) People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.

   A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.

2. (slang) A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager.
3. (slang, most often plural) One's parents.

   I had to sneak out to meet my girlfriend and tell the olds I was going to the library.

Anagrams

• DLO, DOL, Dol, LDO, LOD, Lo'd, LoD, Lod, dol, lod

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?/, [??l?]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse ?ld, from Proto-Germanic *aldiz, cognate with Gothic ???????????????? (alds).

Noun

old c (singular definite olden, not used in plural form)

1. (archaic) period, age, generation
   • 1813, N.F.S. Grundtvig, Kristjan den sjette, in: Poetiske Skrifter, vol. 3, p. 306

   • 1805, Adam Oehleschläger, Isefjorden / https://kalliope.org/da/text/oehlenschlaeger2019020350

2. (archaic, rare) antiquity
   • 1891, Holger Drachmann, Vildt og tæmmet, 299

Inflection

Derived terms

References

• “Old,1” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Etymology 2

Clipping of oldtidskundskab.

Noun

old c (uninflected)

1. Classical Civilization (a course in secondary school)

   Synonym: oldtidskundskab

Derived terms

• oldlærer

References

• “old” in Den Danske Ordbog

German Low German

Alternative forms

• oold, ol, olt

Etymology

From Middle Low German ôlt. The A became an O through the effect of the velarised L in the same manner as in Dutch oud.

Cognate with English old, Dutch oud, German alt, West Frisian âld.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???t/

Adjective

old (comparative öller, superlative öllst)

1. old

Declension

Descendants

• ? German: oll

Hungarian

Etymology

From Proto-Uralic *a?a- (“to loosen, open (up), untie”) + -d (frequentative suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?old]
• Homophone: oldd
• Rhymes: -old

Verb

old

1. (transitive) to solve
2. (transitive) to untie

Conjugation

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):

References

Further reading

• old in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmez? szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: ?ISBN

Middle Low German

Adjective

old

1. Alternative spelling of ôlt.

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.