gain

See also: Gain, gain-, and ga in

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡeɪn/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪn

Etymology 1

From dialectal English gen, gin, short for again, agen (“against”); also Middle English gain, gayn, gein, ȝæn (“against”), from Old English gēan, geġn (“against”). More at against.

Preposition

gain

  1. (obsolete) Against.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English gayn, gein, geyn (“straight, direct, short, fit, good”), from Old Norse gegn (“straight, direct, short, ready, serviceable, kindly”), from gegn (“opposite, against”, adverb) (whence gagna (“to go against, meet, suit, be meet”)); see below at gain. Adverb from Middle English gayn, gayne (“fitly, quickly”), from the adjective.

Adjective

gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

  1. (obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.
    the gainest way
  2. (obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.
  3. (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
  4. (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.
Derived terms

Adverb

gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

  1. (obsolete) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
  2. (dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
  3. (dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.
    gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)

Etymology 3

From Middle English gayn, gain, gein (“profit, advantage”), from Old Norse gagn (“benefit, advantage, use”), from Proto-Germanic *gagną, *gaganą (“gain, profit", literally "return”), from Proto-Germanic *gagana (“back, against, in return”), a reduplication of Proto-Germanic *ga- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *kom (“next to, at, with, along”). Cognate with Icelandic gagn (“gain, advantage, use”), Swedish gagn (“benefit, profit”), Danish gavn (“gain, profit, success”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌴𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (gageigan, “to gain, profit”), Old Norse gegn (“ready”), Swedish dialectal gen (“useful, noteful”), Latin cum (“with”); see gain-, again, against. Compare also Middle English gaynen, geinen (“to be of use, profit, avail”), Icelandic and Swedish gagna (“to avail, help”), Danish gavne (“to benefit”).

The Middle English word was reinforced by Middle French gain (“gain, profit, advancement, cultivation”), from Old French gaaing, gaaigne, gaigne, a noun derivative of gaaignier (“to till, earn, win”), from Frankish *waidanjan (“to pasture, graze, hunt for food”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waiþiz, *waiþī, *waiþō, *waiþijō (“pasture, field, hunting ground”); compare Old High German weidōn, weidanōn (“to hunt, forage for food”) (Modern German Weide (“pasture”)), Old Norse veiða (“to catch, hunt”), Old English wǣþan (“to hunt, chase, pursue”). Related to wathe, wide.

Noun

gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)

  1. The act of gaining; acquisition.
    • Tennyson
      the lust of gain
  2. What is gained.
    • Shakespeare
      Everyone shall share in the gains.
  3. (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Verb

gain (third-person singular simple present gains, present participle gaining, simple past and past participle gained)

  1. (transitive) To acquire possession of.
    Looks like you've gained a new friend.
    • Bible, Matthew xvi. 26
      What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
    • Alexander Pope
      For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease.
  2. (intransitive) To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.
    The sick man gains daily.
    • Bible, Ezekiel xxii. 12
      Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion.
  3. (transitive, dated) To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition.
    to gain a battle; to gain a case at law
  4. (transitive) To increase.
  5. (intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
    I'm gaining (on you).
    gain ground
  6. (transitive) To reach.
    to gain the top of a mountain
    • 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel:
      Ernest laughed harshly and savagely when he had gained the street.
  7. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.
    • Bible, Matthew xviii. 15
      If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
    • Dryden
      to gratify the queen, and gain the court
  8. (intransitive) To put on weight.
    I've been gaining.
  9. (of a clock or watch) To run fast.
Translations

Etymology 4

Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).

Noun

gain (plural gains)

  1. (architecture) A square or bevelled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist, or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive the end of the floor beam.

Anagrams

Basque

Noun

gain

  1. summit

French

Etymology

From Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from the verb gaaignier (“to earn, gain, seize, conquer by force”), from Old Frankish *waidanjan (“to graze, forage, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic *waiþō (“a hunt, pasture, food”), from Proto-Indo-European *weye- (“to go, seek, crave, hunt, desire, drive”). Cognate with Old High German weidanōn (“to hunt, chase”), German Weide (“pasture, pasturage”). Compare also related Old French gain (“harvest time, revival”), from Old Frankish *waida (“income, food, fodder”) (whence French regain), from the same Germanic source.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɛ̃/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

gain m (plural gains)

  1. (usually in the plural) winnings, earnings, takings
  2. (finance) gain, yield

Further reading

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old Norse gegn.

Adjective

gain

  1. Alternative form of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gagn.

Noun

gain

  1. Alternative form of gayn (“gain, reward, advantage”)

Etymology 3

From Old Norse gegna.

Verb

gain

  1. Alternative form of gaynen

Etymology 4

From Old English ġeġn, gæġn, from Proto-Germanic *gagin; also influenced by Old Norse gegn, from the same Proto-Germanic form. Doublet of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Preposition

gain

  1. against, next to, touching
  2. (figuratively) against, opposed to, counter to, opposing (usually used in religious and spiritual contexts)
  3. towards, to, nearing
  4. (rare) on, on top of
  5. (rare) facing, pointed towards
Descendants
References

Adverb

gain

  1. back (to), returning (to)
References

Middle French

Etymology

Old French gaaing.

Noun

gain m (plural gains)

  1. income (financial)
    • 15th century, Rustichello da Pisa (original author), Mazarine Master (scribe), The Travels of Marco Polo, page 19, line 16:
      et donnoit chascun iour de son gaaing pour Dieu
      and every day he gave away some of his income for God

Descendants

References

  • gain on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330-1500) (in French)

Welsh

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡai̯n/

Adjective

gain

  1. Soft mutation of cain.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radicalsoftnasalaspirate
cain gain nghain chain
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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