Faint

According to the AHD faint may be used as an adjective, a noun, or as an intransitive verb. 

Faint as an adjective may describe something 'feeble', 'timid', 'lacking in brightness, clarity, or distinctness', or 'dizzy and weak'.

The noun represents 'An abrupt, usu[ally] brief loss of consciousness, generally associated with failure of normal blood circulation'.

And as an intransitive verb, fainted, fainting, and  faints denote 'To fall into a faint'. The Archaic form is 'To weaken in purpose or spirit'.

The word's origins most recently appear in Middle English with the definition 'deceitful, cowardly'. Prior to this usage, however, the word existed as the past participle of feindre in Old French, meaning 'to feign'. Following the small-caps we arrive at feign whose ultimate place of origin is in Latin as fingere, 'to shape, form'.

Picture courtesy of: 

http://imagecache.allposters.com/images/pic/MEPOD/10012230%7EFound-Daisy-in-a-Dead-Faint-on-the-Floor-and-Captain-Hallam-Bending-Over-Her-Posters.jpg