gain

• enPR: gān, IPA^(key): /ɡeɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪn

From Middle English gayn, gain, gein (“profit, advantage”), from Old Norse gagn (“benefit, advantage, use”), from Proto-Germanic *gagną, *gaganą (“gain, profit", literally "return”), from Proto-Germanic *gagana (“back, against, in return”), a reduplication of Proto-Germanic *ga- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“next to, at, with, along”).

Cognate with Icelandic gagn (“gain, advantage, use”), Swedish gagn (“benefit, profit”), Danish gavn (“gain, profit, success”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌴𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (gageigan, “to gain, profit”), Old Norse gegn (“ready”), dialectal Swedish gen (“useful, noteful”), Latin cum (“with”); see gain-, again, against. Compare also Middle English gaynen, geinen (“to be of use, profit, avail”), Icelandic and Swedish gagna (“to avail, help”), Danish gavne (“to benefit”).

The Middle English word was reinforced by Middle French gain (“gain, profit, advancement, cultivation”), from Old French gaaing, gaaigne, gaigne, a noun derivative of gaaignier, gaigner (“to till, earn, win”), from Frankish *waiþanōn (“to pasture, graze, hunt for food”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waiþiz, *waiþō, *waiþijō (“pasture, field, hunting ground”); compare Old High German weidōn, weidanōn (“to hunt, forage for food”) (Modern German Weide (“pasture”)), Old Norse veiða (“to catch, hunt”), Old English wǣþan (“to hunt, chase, pursue”). Related to wide.

gain (third-person singular simple present gains, present participle gaining, simple past and past participle gained)

1. (transitive) To acquire possession of.

   Looks like you’ve gained a new friend.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Matthew 16:26:

     What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, , →OCLC, Canto XXI, page 35:

     Another answers, ‘Let him be,
     ⁠He loves to make parade of pain,
     ⁠That with his piping he may gain
     The praise that comes to constancy.’

2. (intransitive) To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.

   The sick man gains daily.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Ezekiel 22:12:

     Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion.

3. (transitive, dated) To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition.

   to gain a battle; to gain a case at law

4. (transitive) To increase.
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood , New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons , →OCLC:

     Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength.

5. (intransitive, often with on) To grow more likely to catch or overtake someone.

   to gain ground

   I’m gaining (on you).

6. (transitive) To reach.

   to gain the top of a mountain

   • 1908 February 19, Jack London, The Iron Heel, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC:

     Ernest laughed harshly and savagely when he had gained the street.

7. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one’s side; to conciliate.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Matthew 18:15:

     If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

   • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:

     to gratify the queen, and gain the court

8. (intransitive) To put on weight.

   I’ve been gaining.

   • 2020, Riley Willman, “Ana”, in Rapids Review (Anoka Ramsey Community College):

     Thinspo, bonespo, meanspo, sweetspo, anything that could motivate me not to eat, not to consume, not to gain, not to fail.

10. (of a clock or watch) To run fast.

gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)

1. The act of gaining; acquisition.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii:

     All running headlong after greedie ſpoiles:
     And more regarding gaine than victorie:

   • 1855, Alfred Tennyson, Maude:

     the lust of gain, in the spirit of Cain

   • 2023 June 25, Charles Hugh Smith, The Corruption of POTUS, SCOTUS and SCROTUS‎:

     When power is sought primarily for private gain, the social fabric decays and unravels.

2. The thing or things gained.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Everyone shall share in the gains.

3. (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
   • 1987, John Borwick, Sound recording practice, page 238:

     There follows the high and low-frequency replay equalization, which normally involves two adjustments with a further control allowing the replay gain to be set.

• loss

From dialectal English gen, gin, short for again, agen (“against”); also Middle English gain, gayn, gein, ȝæn (“against”), from Old English gēan, geġn (“against”). More at against.

gain

1. (obsolete) Against.

• gainful

From Middle English gayn, gein, geyn (“straight, direct, short, fit, good”), from Old Norse gegn (“straight, direct, short, ready, serviceable, kindly”), from gegn (“opposite, against”, adverb) (whence gagna (“to go against, meet, suit, be meet”)); see below at gain. Adverb from Middle English gayn, gayne (“fitly, quickly”), from the adjective.

gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

1. (obsolete or dialectal) Straight, direct; near; short.

   the gainest way

   • 1485 July, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter XX, in William Caxton, editor, Le Morte D’Arthur‎, volume 1:

     [...] many times his horse and he plunged over the head in deep mires, for he knew not the way, but took the gainest way in that woodness, that many times he was like to perish.

2. (obsolete or dialectal) Suitable; convenient; ready.
3. (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
4. (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.

• gainly
• gainsome

gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

1. (obsolete or dialectal) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
2. (dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
3. (dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.

   gain quiet ― fairly/pretty quiet

Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).

gain (plural gains)

1. (architecture) A square or bevelled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist, or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive the end of the floor beam.

• Agin, Agni, Angi, Gina, NGIA, Nagi, Ngai, a- -ing, ag'in, agin, gina, inga

From Proto-Basque *gaiN, further etymology unknown.

• IPA^(key): /ɡai̯n/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ai̯n
• Hyphenation: gain

gain inan

1. upper part, top

   Synonym: gainalde

2. summit

   Synonym: tontor

3. cream (butterfat part of milk which rises to the top)

   Synonyms: esne-gain, goien

4. (figurative) cream (the best part of something)

• “gain”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
• “gain”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Inherited from Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, deverbal from the verb gaaignier (“to earn, gain, seize, conquer by force”) (whence Modern French gagner).

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

gain m (plural gains)

1. a gain (of something), an instance of saving (something); an increase (in something)

   Antonym: perte

   un gain de temps ― an increase in time

   un gain de productivité ― an increase in productivity

2. (usually in the plural) winnings, earnings, takings
3. (finance) gain, yield

• gain de cause

• profit

• “gain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

From French gagner (“to gain”), compare Haitian Creole gen.

gain

1. to have

From Old English ġeġn, gæġn, from Proto-West Germanic *gagin, from Proto-Germanic *gagin; also influenced by Old Norse gegn, from the same Proto-Germanic form. Doublet of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”).

• gayn, gein, ȝæn, ȝein, ȝean, gayne, gen, gan, gaine, geyn

• IPA^(key): /ɡæi̯n/, /ɡeːn/, /jæi̯n/, /jeːn/

gain

2. against, next to, touching
3. (figurative) against, opposed to, counter to, opposing (usually used in religious and spiritual contexts)
4. towards, to, nearing
5. (rare) on, on top of
6. (rare) facing, pointed towards

• English: gain (obsolete)
• Scots: gain, gin

• “yẹ̄n, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-23.

gain

1. back (to), returning (to)

• “yẹ̄n, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-23.

gain

1. Alternative form of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”)

gain

1. Alternative form of gayn (“gain, reward, advantage”)

gain

1. Alternative form of gaynen

Old French gaaing.

gain m (plural gains)

1. income (financial)
   • 15th century, Rustichello da Pisa (original author), Mazarine Master (scribe), The Travels of Marco Polo, page 19, line 16:

     et donnoit chascun iour de son gaaing pour Dieu

     and every day he gave away some of his income for God

• French: gain

• gain on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)

• IPA^(key): /ɡai̯n/

gain

1. Soft mutation of cain.