mains

See also: Mains

English

Pronunciation

• (British) IPA^(key): /meɪnz/
• Rhymes: -eɪnz

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Noun

mains

1. plural of main

Noun

mains (uncountable)

1. (chiefly British) The domestic electrical power supply, especially as connected to a network or grid.

   I plugged it into the mains and it blew up!

   We don't have mains power out here, only a generator.

   mains electricity, mains voltage

2. (chiefly British) A large-scale network or grid supplying any of various other services, such as water, gas or sewerage, to properties.

   We have gas heating, but it's bottled gas, not mains gas.

   The properties formerly relied on a well, but are now connected to the mains water supply.

3. The main course of a meal.

Derived terms

• mainsborne
• mains hum

Translations

domestic electrical supply

• Finnish: verkko (fi), sähköt (fi) pl, seinä (fi)
• German: Stromnetz (de) n
• Hungarian: hálózat (hu), hálózati áram
• Polish: sieć (pl) f

pipes of a centralized water supply

• Finnish: vesijohtoverkko, vesijohdot (fi) pl

See also

• water main

Verb

mains

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of main

Etymology 2

Related to manse.

Noun

mains (plural mains)

1. (Scotland) The farm attached to a mansion house.
   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

     Though no minister would visit the Skerburnfoot, or, if he went, departed quicker than he came, the girl Ailie attended regular at the catechising at the mains of Sker.

Derived terms

• Davidson's Mains

References

• Concise Scots Dictionary, 2nd edition
• “mains”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Imans, M'sian, Mansi, Msian, Naims, Nasim, amins, imans, manis, minas, nsima

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: main, maint, maints
• Hyphenation: mains

Noun

mains f

1. plural of main

Anagrams

• minas

Norman

Etymology

From Latin minus.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

  (file)

Noun

mains m (plural mains)

1. (Jersey, mathematics) minus sign