faire

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See also: fairé and fàire

English

Adjective

faire

  1. Obsolete spelling of fair

Noun

faire (plural faires)

  1. Obsolete spelling of fair

Usage notes

Sometimes used deliberately to convey an archaic feeling, e.g. "Renaissance faire"

See also

etymologically unrelated terms

Anagrams

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French faire, from Old French faire, feire, fere, from Vulgar Latin *fare, elided form of Latin facere, from Proto-Italic *fakiō, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (to put, place, set). The past historic and imperfect subjunctive stem fi- (fis, fis, fit, ...) originate from Latin irregular perfect stem fēc- (fēcī), from faciō, with Romance metaphony rules.

Pronunciation

Verb

faire

  1. (transitive) to do
    faire la vaisselleto do the washing-up.
    Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?What are you doing?
    Fais pas ça.Don't do that.
  2. (transitive) to make
    faire une erreurto make a mistake.
    faire un voyageto take a trip
  3. (transitive) to say (of a person), to go (of an animal)
    "Je t’aime," fit-il."I love you," he said.
    Le chat fait "miaou".The cat goes "meow".
  4. (transitive) to make (cause someone or something to do something)
    Tu me fais rire.You make me laugh.
    La chanson me fait pleurer.The song makes me cry.
    • 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut:
      Si on s’en allait tout là-haut pour mieux s’imprégner des couleurs, saurions-nous faire taire notre égo ?
      If we went all the way up there to soak up the colours better, could we silence our ego?
  5. (transitive) to act like (something)
    Fais pas ton innocent avec moi.
    Don't act like you're so innocent around me./Don't give me that innocent act.
  6. (impersonal) to be (of the weather or various situations)
    Il fait chaud/froid/noir/beau dehors.
    It is hot/cold/dark/nice outside.
    Ça fait dix ans que nous nous connaissons.
    We have known each other for ten years.
    Ça fait bizarre.
    That seems/looks bizarre; that gives a bizarre effect/appearance/result.
    Ça fait très monsieur, ta cravate.
    Your tie makes you look like a real gentleman.
  7. (reflexive) to do, to make (oneself)
    Elle se fait les ongles.She is doing her nails.
  8. (reflexive, followed by an infinitive) to be, to get (used for a passive action)
    se faire piquerto be stung
    Je me suis fait avoir.I got screwed.
    Est-ce que tu t’es fait couper les cheveux ?
    Did you get your hair cut?
  9. (reflexive) to ripen (of fruit), to mature
  10. (reflexive, ~ à) to become used to, to get used to
    Synonyms: s’adapter à, s’habituer à
    Je ne m’y suis toujours pas fait.I still haven't got used to it.
    • 2002, Jean-Mariee Bessette, Fernand Meyssonnier, Paroles de bourreau : témoignage unique d'un exécuteur des arrets criminêls:
      Maintenant je pense que, si certains condamnés ont du courage, c’est parce qu’ils se sont faits à l’idée de mourir.
      Now I think that, if some convicts are brave, it is because they have got used to the idea of dying.
  11. (slang, reflexive, transitive) to do (to have sex with)
  12. (informal, intransitive) to defecate; (metaphorically) to shit oneself (to be terrified)
    L’enfant a fait dans son pantalon.
    The child soiled his trousers.
    Ils viennent d’entendre les nouvelles et ils font dans leur culotte.
    They've just heard the news and they're shitting themselves.
  13. (reflexive) to become, to get

Usage notes

  • When it is followed by an infinitive, the past participle fait is invariable.
    Elle s'est fait comprendre, not *elle s'est faite comprendre.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Pages starting with “faire”.

Pages starting with “se_faire”.

Related terms

Further reading

Anagrams

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

faire

  1. inflection of fair:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Irish

Pronunciation

Noun

faire f (genitive singular faire, nominative plural fairí)

  1. verbal noun of fair
  2. watch (act of guarding)
  3. wake (period after death)
    Synonym: tórramh

Declension

Derived terms

Verb

faire

  1. analytic present subjunctive of fair

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
faire fhaire bhfaire
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

  1. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 76

Further reading

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English fæger

Adjective

faire

  1. fair; handsome; beautiful; attractive

Descendants

  • English: fair

Middle French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French faire, feire, fere, from Latin facere, present active infinitive of faciō.

Verb

faire

  1. to do
  2. to make
  3. to choose; to elect
    • 15th century, Rustichello da Pisa (original author), Mazarine Master (scribe), The Travels of Marco Polo, page 7, lines 8–9:
      entre tant que on fera un pappe nous pourrons bien aler en Venisse
      while they are electing a Pope, we could well go to Venice

Conjugation

  • Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Descendants

Norman

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French faire, from Latin faciō, facere.

Verb

faire

  1. (Guernsey) to make, do

Derived terms

Occitan

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin facere, present active infinitive of faciō.

Verb

faire

  1. to do
  2. to make

Conjugation

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin facere, present active infinitive of faciō.

Pronunciation

Verb

faire

  1. to do

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

Descendants

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Verbal noun from fair (to watch), for which see aire (care, heed, attention).

Pronunciation

Noun

faire f (genitive singular faire, plural fairean)

  1. watch (the act or period of watching or guarding)

Derived terms

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical Lenition
faire fhaire
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.