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Definition 2024

se_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.
   Conjugation of faire
simple compound
infinitive faire avoir fait, faict
gerund en faisant Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle faisant
past participle fait, faict
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative ie (may be i' before a vowel) tu il nous vous ilz, elles
simple
tenses		 present fais fais fait, fet faisons faites font
imperfect faisois, faisoys faisois, faisoys faisoit, faisoyt faisions faisiez faisoient, faisoyent
past historic fis fis fit fismes fistes firent
future feroie, feroye feras fera ferons ferez feront
conditional ferois, feroys ferois, feroys feroit, feroyt ferions feriez feroient, feroyent
compound
tenses		 present perfect Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
past anterior Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
future perfect Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
conditional perfect Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive que ie que tu qu'il que nous que vous qu'ilz, qu'elles
simple
tenses		 present face faces face facions faciez facent
imperfect fisse fisses fist fissions fissiez fissent
compound
tenses		 past Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
— fais — faisons faites —

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.

    Conjugation of faire (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive faire avoir fait
gerund en faisant Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle faisant
past participle fait
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses		 present faz, fai fais fait faimes, faisons faites font
imperfect faisoie, faiseie faisoies, faiseies faisoit, faiseit faisiiens, faisiens faisiiez, faisiez faisoient, faiseient
preterite fis feṣis fist feṣimes feṣistes firent
future ferai feras fera ferons feroiz, fereiz, ferez feront
conditional feroie, fereie feroies, fereies feroit, fereit feriiens, feriens feriiez, feriez feroient, fereient
compound
tenses		 present perfect Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
past anterior Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle
future perfect Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
conditional perfect Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive que jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses		 present face faces face faciens, façons faciez facent
imperfect feṣisse feṣisses feṣist feṣissons, feṣissiens feṣissoiz, feṣissez, feṣissiez feṣissent
compound
tenses		 past Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative – tu – nos vos –
— fa — faimes, faisons faites —

Descendants

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

faire f ‎(genitive singular faire, plural fairean)

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

Derived terms

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