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Definition 2024


faire

faire

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"

Anagrams


French

Etymology

From Middle French faire, from Old French faire, feire, fere, from Latin facere, present active infinitive of faciō, from Proto-Italic *fakiō, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (to put, place, set).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɛʁ/

Verb

faire

  1. (transitive) to do
    Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?
    What are you doing?
    Faire la vaisselle.
    To do the washing-up.
  2. (transitive) to make
    Faire une erreur.
    To make a mistake.
  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.
  5. (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.
  6. (reflexive) to do, to make (oneself)
    Elle se fait les ongles.
    She is doing her nails.
  7. (reflexive, followed by an infinitive) to be (used for a passive action)
    Se faire piquer.
    To be stung.
    Elle s'est fait violer.
    She was raped.
  8. (reflexive) to ripen (of fruit), to mature (, etc.)
  9. (reflexive, ~ à) to become used to (see se faire une raison)
  10. (slang, reflexive, transitive) to do (to have sex with)
  11. (reflexive) to become, to get

Conjugation

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

Related terms

Anagrams


German

Adjective

faire

  1. inflected form of fair

Irish

Noun

faire f (genitive singular faire)

  1. verbal noun of fair

Verb

faire

  1. present subjunctive analytic 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.

Middle English

Alternative forms

Adjective

faire

  1. fair; handsome; beautiful; attractive

Descendants

  • English: fair (borrowed)

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 (date of publication), 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, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (to put, place, set).

Verb

faire

  1. (Guernsey) to make, do

Derived terms


Novial

Noun

faire (plural faires)

  1. fire

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.

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

Noun

faire f (genitive singular faire, plural fairean)

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

Derived terms