gain - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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 wide.

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.
    I’m gaining (on you).
  6. (transitive) To reach.
    to gain the top of a mountain
  7. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one’s side; to conciliate.
    • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
      to gratify the queen, and gain the court
  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.
  9. (dated, ambitransitive, of a timekeeping device) To run fast, often by a specified amount.
    Don't rely on that clock: it gains.
    • 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
      "Don't hurry immediately after your breakfast, Geoffrey. You know that clock gains five minutes every day and it's only—" called out Miss Tilehurst, but Geoffrey was technically out of earshot then […]

acquire

gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)

  1. The act of gaining; acquisition.
    People are more willing to take a risk to avoid a loss than to make a gain.
    • c. 1587–1588 (date written), [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:
    • 2023 June 25, Charles Hugh Smith, The Corruption of POTUS, SCOTUS and SCROTUS‎[1]:
      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.

act of gaining

what one gains (profit)

factor by which signal is multiplied

Translations to be checked

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.

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 above. Adverb from Middle English gayn, gayne (“fitly, quickly”), from the adjective.

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[2], 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.

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

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.

From Proto-Basque *gaiN, further etymology unknown.

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)

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).

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

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

gain

  1. to have

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”).

gain

  1. against, next to, touching
  2. (figurative) 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

gain

  1. back (to), returning (to)

gain

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

gain

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

gain

  1. alternative form of gaynen

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

gain

  1. soft mutation of cain