fain

See also: Fain

English

Alternative forms

• faine (obsolete)

Pronunciation

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• IPA^(key): /feɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn
• Homophones: feign, fane, foehn

Etymology 1

From Middle English fain, from Old English fægen, 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”).

Adjective

fain (comparative more fain, superlative most fain)

1. (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 quote)

2. (archaic) Satisfied, contented.
   • 1883, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, A Death-Parting, line 11, Poems‎^[1]:

     O love, of my death my life is fain,

3. (archaic) Eager, willing or 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 606515358, [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 1203220866:

     To a busy man, temptation is fain to climb up together with his business.

   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], OCLC 24531354, 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.

4. (archaic) 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

• (eager): eager, keen, raring

Antonyms

• (eager): averse, disinclined, reluctant, unwilling

Translations

glad

• Bulgarian: охотен (bg) (ohoten), склонен (bg) (sklonen)
• Dutch: gevallig

satisfied

• Bulgarian: доволен (bg) (dovolen)
• Dutch: tevreden (nl)
• Hungarian: elégedett (hu)

Etymology 2

From Middle English fain, fayn, feyn, from the adjective (see above).

Adverb

fain (comparative fainer, superlative fainest)

1. (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 606515358, [Act III, scene v]:

     Leonato: I would faine know what you haue to ſay.

   • 1633, John Donne, Holly Sonnets, XIV:

     Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
     But am betroth’d unto your enemy

   • 1719 April 25​, [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, OCLC 838630407:

     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 1167497017:

     ["]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.

2. (archaic) By will or 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 606515358, [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.

Translations

gladly

• Bulgarian: охотно (bg) (ohotno)
• Dutch: graag (nl), met (nl) plezier (nl)
• French: volontiers (fr)
• German: gern (de)
• Russian: ра́достно (ru) (rádostno), охо́тно (ru) (oxótno), с удово́льствием (s udovólʹstvijem)
• Swedish: gärna (sv)

Etymology 3

From Middle English fainen, from Old English fæġenian, from Proto-West Germanic *faginōn, from Proto-Germanic *faginōną.

Verb

fain (third-person singular simple present fains, present participle faining, simple past and past participle fained)

1. (archaic) To be delighted or glad; to rejoice.
2. (archaic) To gladden.

Translations

be delighted

• Dutch: zich (nl) verheugen (nl)
• Icelandic gleðjast (is)
• Japanese: 快く (kokoroyoku)

gladden

• Dutch: verheugen (nl), blij (nl) maken (nl)
• Icelandic gleðja

rejoice

• Icelandic fagna (is), gleðjast (is)

Anagrams

• an if, fina, naif, naïf

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Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin fīnis, fīnem.

Noun

fain m

1. end

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Middle English

Etymology

From Old English fæġen, from Proto-Germanic *faganaz (“glad”). The adverb is transferred from the adjective.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛi̯n/

Adjective

fain

1. joyful, happy
2. willing, eager
3. pleasing, enjoyable, attractive

Alternative forms

• fagen, vain, fawe, fawen, vawe, fein, fane, fayn, fayne, vayn, feyn

Adverb

fain

1. gladly, joyfully
2. willingly, eagerly

Alternative forms

• fayn, faȝe, fawe, fawen, vawe, fene, vain, vayn, vein, veyn, vane, wane

Descendants

• English: fain
• Scots: fain

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.

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Norman

Etymology

From Old French foin, from earlier fein, from Latin fēnum, from faenum.

Noun

fain m (uncountable)

1. (Jersey) hay

Derived terms

• fagot d'fain (“bundle of hay”)

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Old French

Alternative forms

• faim

Etymology

From Latin famēs.

Noun

fain f (nominative singular fain)

1. hunger

Related terms

• famine

Descendants

• French: faim

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from German fein.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fajn/

Adjective

fain m or n (feminine singular faină, masculine plural faini, feminine and neuter plural faine)

1. (Transylvania) cool, fine, of good quality

Declension

Declension of fain

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	fain		faină	faini	faine
	definite	fainul		faina	fainii	fainele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	fain		faine	faini	faine
	definite	fainului		fainei	fainilor	fainelor

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Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Sursilvan) fein
• (Sutsilvan, Surmiran) fagn

Etymology

From Latin fēnum, from faenum.

Noun

fain m

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) hay

Derived terms

• (Rumantsch Grischun) far fain
• (Puter) fer cul fain
• (Vallader) far cun fain

Related terms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan) fanar

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Siar-Lak

Noun

fain

1. woman

Further reading

• Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)