gain

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From English dialectal gen, gin, short for again, agen (“against”); also Middle English 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”, adv) (whence gagna (“to go against, meet, suit, be meet”)); see below at gain. Adverb from Middle English 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 gain, gein (“profit, advantage”), from Old Norse gagn (“benefit, advantage, use”), from Proto-Germanic *gagnan, *gaganan (“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 gainen (“to be of use, profit, avail”), Icelandic and Swedish gagna (“to avail, help”), Danish gavne (“to benefit”).

The Middle English word was reinforced due to similarity in form and meaning by unrelated Middle French gain (“advancement, cultivation”), with which it was confused. Middle French gain rather is a contraction of Old French gaaing, gaaigne, gaigne, a noun derivative of gaaignier (“to till, earn, win”), also of Germanic origin, but from a different root, Old 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 (plural gains)

  1. The act of gaining.
  2. What one gains, as a return on investment or dividend.
    No pain, no gain.
  3. (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
Translations
act of gaining
what one gains (profit)
factor by which signal is multiplied
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 Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Antonyms
Derived terms

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To acquire possession of what one did not have before.
    Looks like you've gained a new friend.
  2. (transitive) To increase.
  3. (intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
    I'm gaining (on you).
    gain ground
  4. (transitive) To reach.
    • 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel:
      Ernest laughed harshly and savagely when he had gained the street.
  5. (intransitive) To put on weight.
    I've been gaining (weight).
  6. (of a clock or watch) To run fast.
Translations
acquire

Anagrams

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Basque

Noun

gain

  1. summit
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French

Etymology

From Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from the verb gaaingnier (“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”) ( > French regain), from the same Germanic source.

Pronunciation

Noun

gain m (plural gains)

  1. (usually in plural) winnings, earnings, takings
  2. (finance) gain, yield
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Last modified on 13 December 2012, at 13:43