gaine
See also: gainé
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French guaine, from Old French guaïne, inherited from Latin vāgīna (“sheath, scabbard”). Doublet of borrowed vagin. Cognate with Italian guaina, Catalan beina, Spanish vaina, Portuguese bainha.
The change of the onset from Vulgar Latin /v/ to Old French /(ɡ)w/ is due to Germanic influence. One theory sees in it a confluence with Frankish *wāgi (“cup”, compare Old English wǣġe). Alternatively it might be simply that as a military term the word was used most frequently among the Frankish warrior class and therefore came to be generalised in the form corresponding to their accent.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
gaine f (plural gaines)
Related terms edit
Verb edit
gaine
- inflection of gainer:
Further reading edit
- “gaine”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
Adjective edit
gaine
- Alternative form of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”)
Etymology 2 edit
Preposition edit
gaine
- Alternative form of gain (“against”)
Etymology 3 edit
Verb edit
gaine
- Alternative form of gaynen