fainting

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
faint/feɪnt/

▶adjective

• 1 (of a sight, smell, or sound) barely perceptible.

  ■ (of a hope, chance, or idea) slight.

• 2 close to losing consciousness.

▶verb briefly lose consciousness because of a temporarily insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain. ▶noun a sudden loss of consciousness.

– derivatives
faintly adverb,
faintness noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. faint, feint, past part. of faindre, feindre (see feign).