frain
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English frainen, freinen (“to ask”), from Old English freġnan, friġnan (“to ask, inquire, learn”), from Proto-West Germanic *fregnan, from Proto-Germanic *frehnaną (“to ask”), from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”).
Verb[edit]
frain (third-person singular simple present frains, present participle fraining, simple past frained or frain or (rare) froin, past participle frained or froun or (rare) frounen)
- (transitive, dialectal or obsolete) To ask, inquire.
- 1522, John Skelton, Why come ye nat to Courte:
- Ones yet agayne Of you I wolde frayne, Why come ye nat to court ?
- 1555, Parker, Psalme. XXVIII.:
- Theyr myndes disdayne: Gods actes to frain [...]
- 1575-6, Durham, Depositions and Other:
- And so answerd ever when so the said Umphra frayned the said Thomas; and otherwaies this examinate never hard the said Thomas speak anything of himself to any bodye, duringe the spaic of an hower or more, that this examinate was with the said Thomas.
- 1592, Warner, Albion's England. Book VII:
- I, musing, frain'd her meaning: she / Her meaning thus did tell.
- 1803, Amadis de Gaul: A Poem in Three Books - Page 160:
- Nor far had spurr'd the warrior, ere a crew Of hinds and sun-burnt woodmen met his view, Frayn'd by the knight, they told, a beauteous maid, Who, loudly shrieking, call'd on heav'n for aid, [...]
- 1807, Samuel Henshall, translating "The Durham Book" (c. 900); The Gothic Gospel of saint Matthew:
- But Jesus stood before the count; yea the count frayned him, quothing, thou is king of the Jews? but Jesus quoth to him, thou quoths.
- 1522, John Skelton, Why come ye nat to Courte:
Derived terms[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old English freġn, fræġn (“question”), akin to Old English friġnan (“to ask”).
Noun[edit]
frain
Related terms[edit]
Old French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
frain m (oblique plural frainz, nominative singular frainz, nominative plural frain)
- bit (equipment placed in a horse's mouth)
Descendants[edit]
- French: frein
Scots[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English fraynen, frainen, freinen, from Old English freġnan (“to ask”) and Old Norse fregna (“to ask”), from Proto-Germanic *frehnaną.
Verb[edit]
frain (third-person singular simple present frains, present participle frainin, simple past fraint, past participle fraint)
- (transitive) to ask, ask about, ask for
- to enquire
- (intransitive) to make inquiry
- to request
Related terms[edit]
Welsh[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
frain
- Soft mutation of brain.
Mutation[edit]
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
brain | frain | mrain | unchanged |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
- 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 inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English dialectal terms
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English irregular verbs
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns
- Scots terms derived from Middle English
- Scots terms derived from Old English
- Scots terms derived from Old Norse
- Scots terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Scots lemmas
- Scots verbs
- Scots transitive verbs
- Scots intransitive verbs
- Welsh terms with IPA pronunciation
- Welsh non-lemma forms
- Welsh mutated nouns
- Welsh soft-mutation forms