gain
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology
Middle English gain, gein "profit, advantage" from Old Norse gagn "benefit, advantage, use" from Proto-Germanic *gagan- (“‘gain’”). Akin to Icelandic gagn "gain, advantage, use", Swedish gagn "benefit, profit", Danish gavn "gain", Gothic gageigan "to gain", Old Norse gegn "ready"; cf. Middle English gainen "to be of use, profit, avail", Icelandic and Swedish gagna "to avail, help", Danish gavne "to benefit".
The Middle English word was reinforced, and its frequency strengthened, due to similarity in form and meaning to an unrelated Middle French word gain "advancement, cultivation", with which it was confused. Middle French gain is a contraction of Old French gaaing, ga(a)igne, a noun derivative of gaaignier "to till, earn, win", also of Germanic origin, but from a different root, Frankish waidanjan "to pasture, graze, hunt for food" from Proto-Germanic *waiðī, waiðō (“‘pasture, field, hunting ground’”); cf. Old High German weidanōn "to hunt, forage for food" (German Weide "pasture"), Old Norse veiðr "hunting", Old English wāþ "hunting, chase, pursuit".
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
gain (plural gains)
- The act of gaining.
- What one gains, as a return on investment or dividend.
- No pain, no gain.
- (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
[edit] Translations
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[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to gain (third-person singular simple present gains, present participle gaining, simple past and past participle gained)
- (transitive): To acquire possession of what one did not have before.
- (transitive): To increase.
- (transitive): To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
[edit] Translations
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[edit] Basque
[edit] Noun
gain
[edit] French
[edit] Etymology
From gagner.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
gain m. (plural gains)
