deign
/deɪn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.26 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To consider it appropriate or worthy to do or give (something), often when it is seen as beneath one's dignity; to condescend, to vouchsafe.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "Nor vvould vve deigne him buriall of his men, / Till he diſburſed, at Saint Colmes ynch, / Ten thouſand Dollars, to our generall vſe."
- "[T]hough this my vvorke, ovvne not vvorth enough to deſerve your patronage, yet ſuch is your benigne humanity, that I am confident you vvill daigne it your protection, under vvhich it vvillingly ſhrovvdes it ſelfe."
- "And sure a willing ear she well might deign / To one whose tales may equally engage / The wondering mind of youth, the thoughtful heart of age."
- "He, who usually hardly deigned a glance at his infants, now lay gazing with inexpressible softness and sadness at the little sleeping face; […]"
- "O LORD, Jesus Christ, who, before ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish thy work in the souls of thy Apostles and disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that he may perfect in my soul the work of thy grace and thy love."
- "Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reprove / And of my rurall muſick holdeth ſcorne."
Etymology
From Middle English deinen, deynen (“to consider (something) suitable to one’s dignity or worth, condescend; to appear worthy; to condescend to grant (something), permit, vouchsafe; to regard (someone) as worthy; to consecrate, dedicate (something)”), from Old French daigner, degnier, deigner, deignier (“to condescend, deign”) (modern French daigner), from Latin dignāre, the present active infinitive of dignō (“to deem fitting, suitable, or worthy; to condescend, deign”), from dignus (“fitting, suitable, worthy; worthy of”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to perceive; to take”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs). cognates * Italian degnare * Occitan deinar, denhar
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *deḱ-, deinen, daigner, dignāre
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /deɪn/
- British English: /deɪn/
Usage
Inflected Forms
deigns (present, singular)
deigning (participle, present)
deigned (participle, past)
deigned (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
deigned (first person, past)
deignest (archaic, present)
deigned (past, second person)
deignedst (archaic, past)
deigneth (archaic, present)
deigned (past, singular)
Derived Forms
dedeign