English
feign
Feign comes from Middle English feynen ‘to fake, feign, defraud, counterfeit’, from Old French feindre ‘to pretend’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to mold’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to mold’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingoas fingere‘to form, shape, invent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400feindre‘to pretend’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feynen‘to fake, feign, defraud, counterfeit’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599feign
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to mold’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingoas fingere‘to form, shape, invent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400feindre‘to pretend’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feynen‘to fake, feign, defraud, counterfeit’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599feign
Earliest quotation: 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “[T]he truest poetry is the most feigning, and lovers…”
The story
Also compare feint, figment and fiction.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to mold’
lady, figure, paradise, dairy, dough, faint, dey, 25 more
through Proto-Italic *fingō ‘to knead, form’
through Latin fingo ‘to form, shape, invent’
fiction, fictitious, effigy, figment, 18 more
through Old French feindre ‘to pretend’
Today it means
verb To make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- / feign