Very weak or barely noticeable; also describes a sudden loss of consciousness.
From Old French 'faint' or 'feint,' from Latin 'fingere' meaning 'to pretend' or 'to feign.' The meaning evolved from 'lacking courage' or 'cowardly' to 'weak' and eventually to 'barely perceptible' or 'losing consciousness,' with the fainting sense developing by the 14th century.
Fainting is actually your brain's emergency shut-down response when blood pressure drops too suddenly—it's a protective mechanism that lowers your head to the level of your heart to restore blood flow! Ironically, feeling faint is your body's way of helping you, not harming you.
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