fain
Englisch
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English fain, from Old English fægen, from Proto-West Germanic *fagan, from Proto-Germanic *faganaz (“glad”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to make pretty, please oneself”); akin to Old Norse feginn (“glad, joyful”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽 (faginōn, “to rejoice”), Old Norse fagna (“to rejoice”).[1]
Adjective
fain (comparative more fain, superlative most fain)(archaic)
- Well-pleased, glad.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVII:
- Thus Gawayne and Ector abode to gyder
For syre Ector wold not awey til Gawayne were hole
& the good knyȝt Galahad rode so long tyll he came that nyghte to the Castel of Carboneck
& hit befelle hym thus
that he was benyghted in an hermytage
Soo the good man was fayne whan he sawe he was a knyght erraunt- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- Satisfied, contented.
- 1883, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, A Death-Parting, line 11, Poems[1]:
- O love, of my death my life is fain,
- Eager, willing oder inclined to.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 125, column 2:
- Man and Birds are fayne of climbing high.
- 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:
- To a busy man, temptation is fain to climb up together with his business.
- 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 223:
- She who would fain give the starry worlds to the object of her affection—it is a fine and beautiful pride which makes her shrink from aught of benefit from him.
- Obliged or compelled to.
Quotations
- 1900, Ernest Dowson, To One in Bedlam, lines 9–10:
- O lamentable brother! if those pity thee,
Am I not fain of all thy lone eyes promise me;
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “eager”): loath, averse, disinclined, reluctant, unwilling
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English fain, fayn, feyn, from the adjective (see above).
Adverb
fain (comparative fainer, superlative fainest)(archaic)
- With joy; gladly.
- 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v], page 113, column 2:
- Leonato: I would faine know what you haue to ſay.
- 1633, John Donne, Holly Sonnets, section XIV:
- Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth’d unto your enemy
- 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:
- The second thing I fain would have had was a tobacco-pipe, but it was impossible to me to make one…
- 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, chapter XXV, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- ["]Fain would I add to my beauty and my length of days if that be possible.["]
- 1891, George Du Maurier, Peter Ibbetson[2]:
- […] and fain would I inhale it in all its pristine fulness and vigour.
- 1923, Anthony Ludovici, “The Positive Man and the Positive Woman”, in Woman; A Vindication, London: Constable:
- As a matter of fact, although Woman means everything to Man’s sexuality, and is the embodiment of all that his reproductive instinct can desire, even when it is at its keenest, Man means very little to Woman. He is, after all, no more than the sparking-plug that sets an elaborate process going, and the brief moment in which his share in her business is accomplished, and the incomplete pleasure it affords her, are ridiculously insignificant when compared with the importance he himself would fain attach to them.
- By will oder choice.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 1:
- Gonzalo: Now would I giue a thouſand furlongs of Sea, for an Acre of barren ground: Long heath, Browne firrs, any thing; the wills aboue be done, but I would faine dye a dry death.
Synonyms
Translations
Etymology 3
From Middle English fainen, from Old English fæġnian, from Proto-West Germanic *faginōn, from Proto-Germanic *faginōną. Doublet of fawn.
Verb
fain (third-person singular simple present fains, present participle faining, simple past and past participle fained)
- (archaic) To be delighted or glad; to rejoice.
- (archaic) To gladden.
- (Germanic paganism) to worship, to celebrate, to offer an oblation which is not sacrificial blót.
Translations
References
- ^ “fain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Dalmatian
Etymology
From Latin fīnis, fīnem.
Nomen
fain m
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English fæġen, from Proto-West Germanic *fagan (“glad”). The adverb is transferred from the adjective.
Pronunciation
Adjective
fain
Alternative forms
Adverb
fain
Alternative forms
Descendants
References
- “fain, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “fain, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Norman
Etymology
From Old French foin, from earlier fein, from Latin fēnum, from faenum.
Nomen
fain m (uncountable)
Derived terms
- fagot d'fain (“bundle of hay”)
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
Nomen
fain oblique singular, f (nominative singular fain)
Related terms
Descendants
- French: faim
Romanian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adjective
fain m or n (feminine singular faină, masculine plural faini, feminine and neuter plural faine)
- (Transylvania) cool, fine, of good quality
Declension
Romansch
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Latin fēnum, from faenum.
Nomen
fain m
Derived terms
- (Rumantsch Grischun) far fain
- (Puter) fer cul fain
- (Vallader) far cun fain
Related terms
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan) fanar
Siar-Lak
Nomen
fain
Further reading
- Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)
- English terms with audio links
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/eɪn
- Rhymes:English/eɪn/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English archaic terms
- Middle English terms with quotations
- English terms with quotations
- English adverbs
- English doublets
- English verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- en:Germanic paganism
- Dalmatian terms inherited from Latin
- Dalmatian terms derived from Latin
- Dalmatian lemmas
- Dalmatian nouns
- Dalmatian masculine nouns
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle English adverbs
- enm:Emotions
- Norman terms inherited from Old French
- Norman terms derived from Old French
- Norman terms inherited from Latin
- Norman terms derived from Latin
- Norman lemmas
- Norman nouns
- Norman masculine nouns
- Jersey Norman
- nrf:Agriculture
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French feminine nouns
- Old French uncountable nouns
- Romanian terms borrowed from German
- Romanian terms derived from German
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian adjectives
- Transylvanian Romanian
- Romansch terms inherited from Latin
- Romansch terms derived from Latin
- Romansch lemmas
- Romansch nouns
- Romansch masculine nouns
- Rumantsch Grischun
- Puter Romansch
- Vallader Romansch
- Siar-Lak lemmas
- Siar-Lak nouns