gain

• IPA^(key): /ɡeɪn/

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• Rhymes: -eɪn

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.

gain

1. (obsolete) Against.

• gainful

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.

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.

• gainly
• gainsome

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)

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 *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 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 (“to till, earn, win”), from 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.

gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)

1. The act of gaining; acquisition.
   • Tennyson

     the lust of gain

2. What is gained.
   • Shakespeare

     Everyone shall share in the gains.

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.

• loss

• high-gain
• low-gain
• medium-gain
• autogain
• gainful
• gainsome

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.

   • Bible, Matthew xvi. 26

     What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

   • Alexander Pope

     For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease.

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.

   • Bible, Ezekiel xxii. 12

     Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion.

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.
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V

     Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength.

5. (intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.

   I'm gaining (on you).

   gain ground

6. (transitive) To reach.

   to gain the top of a mountain

   • 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel:

     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.
   • Bible, Matthew xviii. 15

     If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

   • Dryden

     to gratify the queen, and gain the court

8. (intransitive) To put on weight.

   I've been gaining.

9. (of a clock or watch) To run fast.

Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).

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.

• Agin, Agni, Angi, Gina, NGIA, Nagi, Ngai, a- -ing, ag'in, agin, gina, inga

gain

1. summit

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛ̃/

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gain m (plural gains)

1. (usually in the plural) winnings, earnings, takings
2. (finance) gain, yield

• “gain” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

From French gagner ; compare Haitian Creole gen / genyen.

gain

1. to have

From Old Norse gegn.

gain

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

From Old Norse gagn.

gain

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

From Old Norse gegna.

gain

1. Alternative form of gaynen

From Old English ġeġn, gæġn, from Proto-Germanic *gagin; also influenced by Old Norse gegn, from the same Proto-Germanic form. Doublet of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”).

• gayn, gein, ȝæn, ȝein, ȝean, gayne, gen, gan, gaine, geyn

• (from gæġn) IPA^(key): /ɡɛi̯n/, /ɡeːn/
• (from ġeġn) IPA^(key): /jɛi̯n/, /jeːn/

gain

1. against, next to, touching
2. (figuratively) against, opposed to, counter to, opposing (usually used in religious and spiritual contexts)
3. towards, to, nearing
4. (rare) on, on top of
5. (rare) facing, pointed towards

• English: gain (obsolete)
• Scots: gain, gin

• “yẹ̄n (prep.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-23.

gain

1. back (to), returning (to)

• “yẹ̄n (adv.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-23.

Old French gaaing.

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

• French: gain

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡai̯n/

gain

1. Soft mutation of cain.