fain
English
Etymology
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”)[1]. Compare Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐍃 (fahs, “glad”)[2].
Pronunciation
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
- (archaic) Satisfied, contented.
- 1883, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, A Death-Parting, line 11, Poems:
- O love, of my death my life is fain,
- (archaic) Eager, willing or inclined to.
- c. 1591 William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act II scene i[1]:
- Men and birds are fain of climbing high.
- (Can we date this quote by Jeremy Taylor and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- To a busy man, temptation is fain to climb up together with his business.
- c. 1591 William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act II scene i[1]:
- (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;
Translations
Adverb
fain (comparative fainer, superlative fainest)
- (archaic) With joy; gladly.
- c. 1598-99 William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act III scene v[2]:
- Leonato: I would fain know what you have 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, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe:
- The second thing I fain would have had was a tobacco-pipe, but it was impossible to me to make one…
- c. 1598-99 William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act III scene v[2]:
- (archaic) By will or choice.
- c. 1610-11 William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I scene i[3]:
- Gonzalo: Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground— long heath, brown furze, anything. The wills above be done, but I would fain die a dry death.
- c. 1610-11 William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I scene i[3]:
Translations
Verb
fain (third-person singular simple present fains, present participle faining, simple past and past participle fained)
Translations
References
- ^ “fain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- ^ fahs and faginon in Köbler's Gotisches Wörterbuch
Anagrams
Dalmatian
Etymology
From Latin fīnis, fīnem.
Noun
fain m
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English fæġen, from Proto-Germanic *faganaz (“glad”). The adverb is transferred from the adjective.
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, fein, from Latin faenum.
Noun
fain m (uncountable)
Derived terms
- fagot d'fain (“bundle of hay”)
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
Noun
fain oblique singular, f (nominative singular fain)
Descendants
- French: faim
Related terms
Romanian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adjective
fain m or n (feminine singular faină, masculine plural faini, feminine and neuter plural faine)
Declension
Romansch
Alternative forms
Etymology
Noun
fain m
Derived terms
- (Rumantsch Grischun) far fain
- (Puter) fer cul fain
- (Vallader) far cun fain
Related terms
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan) fanar
Siar-Lak
Noun
fain
Further reading
- Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)
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