mains

See also: Mains

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /meɪnz/
• Rhymes: -eɪnz

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Etymology 1

Noun

mains

1. plural of main

Noun

mains (uncountable)

1. (chiefly British) The domestic electrical power supply.

   I plugged it into the mains and it blew up!

2. The pipes of a centralized water supply that transport the water to individual buildings.
3. The main course of a meal.

Derived terms

• mains hum

Translations

domestic electrical supply

• Finnish: verkko (fi), sähköt (fi) pl, seinä (fi)
• German: Stromnetz (de) n
• Hungarian: hálózat (hu), hálózati áram
• Polish: sieć (pl) f

pipes of a centralized water supply

• Finnish: vesijohtoverkko, vesijohdot (fi) pl

Verb

mains

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of main

See also

• water main

Etymology 2

Related to manse.

Noun

mains (plural mains)

1. (Scotland) The farm attached to a mansion house.
   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

     Though no minister would visit the Skerburnfoot, or, if he went, departed quicker than he came, the girl Ailie attended regular at the catechising at the mains of Sker.

Derived terms

• Davidson's Mains

References

• Concise Scots Dictionary, 2nd edition
• “mains” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Anagrams

• Imans, M'sian, Mansi, Msian, Naims, Nasim, amins, imans, manis, minas, nsima

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophones: main, maint, maints
• Hyphenation: mains

Noun

mains f

1. plural of main

Anagrams

• minas

Norman

Etymology

From Latin minus.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey)

  (file)

Noun

mains m (plural mains)

1. (Jersey, mathematics) minus sign