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The Shape of the History of Feign
Of the many ways Ferris Bueller feigns illness—that is, pretends to be sick—to avoid going to school in the 1986 comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, arguably the most ingenious involves tucking a mannequin version of himself under the blankets of his bed to fool his family. This method of deception provides not only entertaining hijinks but also clues to the origins of the word feign itself. Today, feign is all about faking it, but it hasn’t always been so. One of the word’s oldest meanings is “to fashion, form, or shape,” which echoes that of its Latin source, the verb fingere, meaning “to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, or pretend to be.” It’s one thing to fashion a likeness of oneself as an art project, and another to try and convince your family it’s really you in order to play hooky; it’s this element of deceit that infused other early meanings of feign including “to lie,” “to counterfeit,” and “to forge a document.” Today, people mostly use feign to suggest the act of forming, or giving shape to, false appearances—not of personas (such as, say, that of the Sausage King of Chicago), but rather conditions or feelings, such as happiness, sleep, or outrage.
Synonyms
Examples of feign in a Sentence
Douglas Coupland, Generation X, 1991
Success keeps her busy. "Relaxation?" she asks, feigning puzzlement. "What's that?"
—Jennifer Johnston, New Woman, November 1990
… Brad would sometimes clown or feign clumsiness just to crack her composed expression with a blush or a disapproving frown.
—John Updike, Trust Me, 1987
I would never feign illness just to get out of a test.
Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
Before Musk officially took over Twitter, the tech oligarch at least feigned an interest in running the company with an eye toward actual governance.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2024
Any staff member found to be involved in signaling or directing a player to feign an injury will face the same measures, including financial penalties and a suspension.
—Bill Eichenberger, Sportico.com, 2 Nov. 2024
To prove it, Crane feigns interest in the space, goes to see the studio and gets a lower rent price.
—Erica Marrison, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Feign.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feign. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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