Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FEIGN, v.t. [fane; Fr. feindre; Sp. fingir; It. fingere, or fignere; L. fingo; D. veinzen; Arm. feinta, fincha. The Latin forms fictum, fictus, whence figura, figure. Hence it agrees with W. fugiaw, to feign or dissemble; fug, feint, disguise; also L. fucus.]

1. To invent or imagine; to form an idea or conception of something not real. There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thy own heart. Neh. vi.
2. To make a show of; to pretend; to assume a false appearance; to counterfeit. I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner. 2 Sam. xiv. She feigns laugh. Pope.
3. To represent falsely; to pretend; to form and relate s fictitious tale. The poet Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods. Shak.
4. To dissemble; to conceal. [Obs.] Spenser.