fain
/feɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.54 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "VVhat is the truſt or ſtrength of fooliſh man? / They that of late vvere daring vvith their ſcoffes, / Are glad and faine by flight to ſaue themſelues."
- "The cantie, auld folks, crackin crouſe, / The young ones ranting thro' the houſe— / My heart has been ſae fain to ſee them, / That I for joy hae barkit vvi' them."
- "[F]ine words to make foolish maidens fain. But do not excuse it; it is your country-fashion, and we know how to treat it as such."
- "Then mean I, that I should be wonderous fain / That shamefully they one and all were slain, / Whoever against Love mean aught amiss."
- "[M]y master is quite fain of his company."
- "O love, of my death my life is fain, / (The willows wave on the water-way,) / Your cheek and mine are cold in the rain, / But warm they'll be when we meet again. / (With a wind blown night and day.)"
Etymology
From Middle English fain (“enjoyable, pleasing; fond of; glad, pleased; good, suitable; happy, joyful”), from Old English fægen (“happy, joyful, fain”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagan (“glad”), from Proto-Germanic *faganaz (“glad”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“joyful; pretty”). Cognates * Old Norse fagna (“to rejoice”), feginn (“glad, joyful”) * Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽 (faginōn, “to rejoice”) * Old High German fehan, gifehan (“to rejoice”) * Old Saxon fagan, fagin
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /feɪn/
- British English: /feɪn/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more fain (comparative)
most fain (superlative)
faine (alternative)
fainer (comparative)
fainest (superlative)
fains (present, singular)
faining (participle, present)
fained (participle, past)
fained (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
fained (first person, past)