gainstander
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English aȝenstondere, equivalent to gainstand + -er. Cognate with Scots gainstandar, ganstandar and againstandare (“resister, opposer, opponent”).
Noun edit
gainstander (plural gainstanders)
- (archaic) One who stands in opposition to (a belief, cause, etc.); an opposer
- 1832, Sir Walter Scott, The Talisman:
- " […] Formerly, it is said, they were leopards; but now they are become lions at all points, and must take precedence of beast, fish, or fowl, or woe worth the gainstander."