faina

See also: Faina, fainá, făină, and fainā

Italian

Alternative forms

• foina (archaic)
• foino m (archaic)

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *fagīna.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faˈi.na/
• Rhymes: -ina
• Hyphenation: fa‧ì‧na

Noun

faina f (plural faine)

1. beech marten, stone marten (Martes foina)

Descendants

• → Sardinian: faina

References

• “faina”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026
• “faìna”, in Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, volume 5 e–fin, UTET, 1968, page 578bc

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Catalan faena (“task, chore”) (modern feina), from Latin facienda, gerundive of faciō. Compare Spanish faena. Doublet of fazenda.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfaj.nɐ/ [ˈfaɪ̯.nɐ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfaj.nɐ/

• Hyphenation: fai‧na

Noun

faina f (plural fainas)

1. (nautical) work onboard a ship
2. (by extension) any type of hard work

   Synonyms: azáfama, labuta, trabalho

   • 1920, Paulo Setúbal, “Os colonos”, in Alma Cabocla:

     Começa o rude trabalho. / Que faina honrada e feliz! / Inda molhados de orvalho, / Flamejam, em cada galho. / Os bagos como rubis.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (by extension) task, job

   Synonyms: lida, tarefa

Further reading

• “faina”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “faina”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfaina/ [ˈfai̯.na]
• Rhymes: -aina
• Syllabification: fai‧na

Noun

faina m or f same meaning (plural fainas)

1. alternative form of fainá

Further reading

• “fainá”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025