Wiktionary

gain

See also: Gain, gain-, and ga in

English

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Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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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 *ḱóm (“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”), dialectal Swedish 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, gaigner (“to till, earn, win”), from Frankish *waiþanōn (“to pasture, graze, hunt for food”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waiþiz, *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.

Verb

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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.
  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.
  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, often with on) To grow more likely to catch or overtake someone.
    to gain ground
    I’m gaining (on you).
  6. (transitive) To reach.
    to gain the top of a mountain
    • 1908, Jack London, The Iron Heel‎[1], New York: The Macmillan Company:
      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.
  8. (intransitive) To put on weight.
    I’ve been gaining.
    • 2020, Riley Willman, “Ana”, in Rapids Review (Anoka Ramsey Community College):
      Thinspo, bonespo, meanspo, sweetspo, anything that could motivate me not to eat, not to consume, not to gain, not to fail.
  10. (of a clock or watch) To run fast.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of gain
infinitive (to) gain
present tense past tense
1st-person singular gain gained, gain'd†
2nd-person singular gain, gainest† gained, gainedst†, gain'd†
3rd-person singular gains, gaineth† gained, gain'd†
plural gain
subjunctive gain gained, gain'd†
imperative gain —
participles gaining gained, gain'd†

†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)

  1. The act of gaining; acquisition.
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii:
      All running headlong after greedie ſpoiles:
      And more regarding gaine than victorie:
    • 1855, Alfred Tennyson, Maude:
      the lust of gain, in the spirit of Cain
    • 2023 June 25, Charles Hugh Smith, The Corruption of POTUS, SCOTUS and SCROTUS‎[2]:
      When power is sought primarily for private gain, the social fabric decays and unravels.
  2. The thing or things gained.
  3. (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
    • 1987, John Borwick, Sound recording practice, page 238:
      There follows the high and low-frequency replay equalization, which normally involves two adjustments with a further control allowing the replay gain to be set.
Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2

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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

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gain

  1. (obsolete) Against.
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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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

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gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

  1. (obsolete or dialectal) Straight, direct; near; short.
    the gainest way
    • 1485 July, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter XX, in William Caxton, editor, Le Morte D’Arthur‎[3], volume 1:
      [...] many times his horse and he plunged over the head in deep mires, for he knew not the way, but took the gainest way in that woodness, that many times he was like to perish.
  2. (obsolete or dialectal) Suitable; convenient; ready.
  3. (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
  4. (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Adverb

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gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

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

Etymology 4

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Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).

Noun

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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

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Basque

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Etymology

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From Proto-Basque *gaiN, further etymology unknown.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gain inan

  1. upper part, top
    Synonym: gainalde
  2. summit
    Synonym: tontor
  3. cream (butterfat part of milk which rises to the top)
    Synonyms: esne-gain, goien
  4. (figurative) cream (the best part of something)

Declension

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Declension of gain (inanimate, ending in consonant)
indefinite singular plural
absolutive gain gaina gainak
ergative gainek gainak gainek
dative gaini gainari gainei
genitive gainen gainaren gainen
comitative gainekin gainarekin gainekin
causative gainengatik gainarengatik gainengatik
benefactive gainentzat gainarentzat gainentzat
instrumental gainez gainaz gainez
inessive gainetan gainean gainetan
locative gainetako gaineko gainetako
allative gainetara gainera gainetara
terminative gainetaraino gaineraino gainetaraino
directive gainetarantz gainerantz gainetarantz
destinative gainetarako gainerako gainetarako
ablative gainetatik gainetik gainetatik
partitive gainik — —
prolative gaintzat — —

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “gain”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
  • “gain”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, deverbal from the verb gaaignier (“to earn, gain, seize, conquer by force”) (whence Modern French gagner).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gain m (plural gains)

  1. a gain (of something), an instance of saving (something); an increase (in something)
    Antonym: perte
    un gain de temps ― an increase in time
    un gain de productivité ― an increase in productivity
  2. (usually in the plural) winnings, earnings, takings
  3. (finance) gain, yield

Derived terms

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See also

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Further reading

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Louisiana Creole

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Etymology

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From French gagner (“to gain”), compare Haitian Creole gen.

Verb

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gain

  1. to have

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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From Old English ġeġn, gæġn, from Proto-West Germanic *gagin, 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

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɡæi̯n/, /ɡeːn/, /jæi̯n/, /jeːn/

Preposition

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gain

  2. against, next to, touching
  3. (figurative) against, opposed to, counter to, opposing (usually used in religious and spiritual contexts)
  4. towards, to, nearing
  5. (rare) on, on top of
  6. (rare) facing, pointed towards
Descendants
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  • English: gain (obsolete)
  • Scots: gain, gin
References
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Adverb

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gain

  1. back (to), returning (to)
References
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Etymology 2

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Adjective

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gain

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

Etymology 3

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Noun

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gain

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

Etymology 4

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Verb

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gain

  1. Alternative form of gaynen

Middle French

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Etymology

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Old French gaaing.

Noun

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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

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References

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

Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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gain

  1. Soft mutation of cain.

Mutation

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Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
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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