| 释义 |
▪ I. † gain, n.1 Obs.
Forms: α. 3 gaȝhenn, 5 Sc. gawin; β. 3 gein, 4 geyn, gayne.
[The two main forms are app. adopted respectively from ON. gagn (Sw. gagn, Da. gavn) and gegn, parallel forms of a n. developed from the absol. use of the neut. of the adj. gegn (see gain a.). The word became obsolete in the 15th century, about which time the F. gain came into the language, with a closely allied meaning. See gain n.2]
Advantage, use, avail, benefit; remedy, help.
αc1200Ormin 13923 All swa summ till Natanael full litell gaȝhenn wære. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 383 That I haue hecht I sall hald.. Quhidder sa it gang to greif or to gawin.
βa1225St. Marher. 18 Ah hit were þi gein þet tu þe gest unblescet ant ti god baðe efter blescunge ga. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2349 Al þe gayne þow me gef, as god mon schulde. c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 206 But whan she saw that hir ne gat no geyn. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas ii. xii. (1554) 50 b, Her lord infect with sodain pestilence There was no geyn but he must nedes dye.
▪ II. gain, n.2|geɪn|
Forms: 5–6 gayne, 6–7 gaine, 7– gain.
[a. OF. gain, gaain (mod.F. gain) masc., gaigne, gaaigne fem. (mod.F. gagne), f. gaaigner gain v.2
The OFr. ns. had, in addition to the senses adopted in Eng., other senses related to those of the vb., e.g. ‘cultivated land’, ‘crop’, ‘harvest’.]
†1. Booty, prey, spoil. Obs.
1473J. Warkworth Chron. 2 The Scottesche hoost supposed it hade be doone for some gayne. 1481Caxton Godfrey clxxvii 261 One shippe..whiche was goon for somme gayne vpon the see cam alle laden with grete gayne. 1490― Eneydos lii. 145 With the gayne of the knyghtes, & wyth the proye that they had goten. [1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 119 b, Being content with their prey and gayne, [they] began to retraite. ]
2. a. Increase of possessions, resources or advantages of any kind, consequent on some action or change of conditions; an instance of this; profit, emolument; opposed to loss. Also (in somewhat rhetorical use), acquisition of wealth viewed as an object of desire; ‘lucre’, ‘pelf’.
1496–7Act 12 Hen. VII, c. 13 §12 Implementis of Hous⁓hold..wherby..they take no gayne ner wynnyng. 1538Starkey England i. ii. 1043 Wythout regard of pryuate gayne and profyt. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 113 Where (after long fightyng) bothe parties departed without either greate gain or losse. 1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 148 For the tanning of the best ox hyde, for materials, paines and gaine (printed ganie) fiftie shillings. 1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesm. i. (1841) I. 6 He..knows..what gain is made of them, and what loss, if any. 1770Goldsm. Des. Vill. 424 Teach erring man to spurn the rage of gain. 1834J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1837) I. x. 157 They make a gain of godliness. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 303 Greedy as they were of gain, they seldom became rich. 1866J. Martineau Ess. I. 233 Disbelief..will bring no logical gain. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 26 This first life claims a second, else I count its gain no gain.
Proverb.c1620Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 153 Men say right well, that gaine still easeth paine.
b. In pl. Sums acquired by trade or in other ways; emoluments, profits, winnings, etc. († Formerly sometimes treated as sing.)
1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 30 Light gaynes make heauy purses. 1554Latimer in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1822) III. ii. 290 If their offering did not bringe gaynes withal, it shulde not be so often done. 1600Holland Livy xxxi. xlv. (1609) 800 The gaines would hardly quit the paines [L. vix operæ pretium erat]. 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 343 Out of that gaines.. I made me a suit after the fashion of an old Gally-slaue. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 74 That Crop..bursts the crowded Barnes, with more than promis'd Gains. 1735Berkeley Querist §52 Whether small gains be not the way to great profit? 1795Burke Th. on Scarcity Wks. 1842 II. 248 The labouring people did, either out of their direct gains, or from charity..fare better than they did. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 120 The enormous gains, direct and indirect, of the servants of the public went on increasing, while the gains of every body else were diminishing. 1875Maine Hist. Inst. iv. 110 Where a joint-family claimed the gains of a dancing-girl. 1893Bookman June 83/1 Having got into evil odour by their dubious gains.
c. In extended sense: An increase (whether beneficial or not) in amount, magnitude, or degree. Opposed to loss.
1851Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 412 The gain in weight by the absorption of oxygen and nitrogen even exceeds the loss occasioned by the exhalation of carbon. 1863Lyell Antiq. Man 29 A measure of the rate of the gain of land in seven centuries and a half. 1864Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 206, I was weighed yesterday and found a gain of five pounds. 1869Blackmore Lorna D. i, One with another, hard they go, to see the gain of the waters.
d. Electronics. An increase in power, voltage, or current, expressed as the ratio of the increased quantity to the original quantity or (more commonly) as the logarithm of this; gain control (see quot. 1930).
1922Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 862/2 The ‘loss’ in such a case will actually be a ‘gain’. That is, in such a case greater current will flow into the receiving circuit when the apparatus is inserted than when it is omitted. 1929K. Henney Princ. Radio xiii. 309 There is a voltage step-up in the transformer, therefore some voltage gain may be secured by its use. 1930Sel. Gloss. Motion Pict. Techn. (Acad. Motion Pict., Hollywood), Gain control, device for varying the gain of an amplifier. 1936R. S. Glasgow Princ. Radio Engin. vii. 171 Since the decibel is a logarithmic unit, the total gain of an amplifier can be conveniently found by adding together the gains of the individual stages. 1950Sci. News XV. 19 The platinum electrode..is connected to a valve amplifier of high gain. 1959K. Henney Radio Engin. Handbk. (ed. 5) v. 29 The effectiveness of the coupled circuit of Fig. 44 is determined by its gain and its selectivity. 1961N. H. Crowhurst High Fidelity Sound Engin. iii. 79 The effect of a gain control is to alter volume or loudness. 1962A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio ii. 38 The speech may be at such a low level that considerable gain has to be used, and noise from the amplifier becomes apparent. 1970D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics (ed. 2) xii. 267 The current gain in a junction transistor is normally less than unity.
†3. A source of gain (= Gr. κέρδος). Obs.—1
1655Stanley Hist. Philos. i. (1701) 22/1 To examine by what gain every Man maintained himself.
4. The action of acquiring (a possession), winning (a battle), etc. rare. [Cf. F. le gain d'une bataille.]
1576Gascoigne Steele Gl. (Arb.) 70 They stoode content, with gaine of glorious fame..To leade a life like true Philosophers. 1844Fraser's Mag. XXX. 178/1 The gain of the battle has been ascribed to the aid of the Swedes.
5. Comb.: (sense 2), as gain-devoted, gain-getting, gain-greedy, gain-spurred, gain-thirsty adjs.; † gain-sharing, † gains-taking vbl. ns.
1784Cowper Task i. 682 In proud, and gay, And *gain⁓devoted cities.
1894Church Building Quarterly (N.Y.) July 143 [Church-spires] are eloquent reminders to a gain⁓saying and *gaingetting people that there are better things to think of than the whirling wheels of our manifold industries.
1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 523 You..*Gain-greedy Chap-men.
1894Daily News 23 Nov. 5/3 ‘*Gain-sharing’ and other systems of remuneration akin to profit sharing.
1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 282 Saving that our *gain-spurr'd Pilots finde, In our dayes, Waters of more wondrous kinde.
1549Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. 2 Cor. 52 Neither with high lokes, nor with bandes of men, nor with *gaynes taking.
a1618Sylvester Arctophilos's Epist. 62 Who forbids *gaine-thirsty Chapmen cheapen Another's ware.
▪ III. gain, n.3 techn.|geɪn|
[Of obscure origin; in sense 1 it might be a use of gain n.2 It is not certain that senses 1 and 2 belong to the same word.]
1. (See quots.; = tusk, horn.)
1679Moxon Mech. Exerc. ix. 167, 168 Gain, the bevelling shoulder of a Joyst, or other Stuff..the thickness of the shoulder is cut into the Trimmer also Bevilling upwards, that it may just receive that Gain. 1842Gwilt Archit. Gloss., Gain, in carpentry, the bevelled shoulder of a binding joist, for the purpose of giving additional resistance to the tenon below.
2. a. Carpentry and Build. (? U.S.) A notch, groove, niche (see quots.).
Knight Dict. Mech. 1874 gives also the sense ‘a mortise.’
1848Craig, Gain..a lapping of timbers, or the cut that is made for receiving a timber. 1865E. Burritt Walk Land's End 358 Its four walls run up perfectly plain, with⁓out a break, except a gain cut in one for a small stone saint, called St. Nectan. 1874Knight Dict. Mech. I. 935 s.v. Gaining-machine, Two circular saws are placed at a distance apart equal to that of the desired gain. 1884Ibid. IV. 366 Gain, a notch, as made in the side or edge of a piece of timber to receive another bar of the frame.
b. Coal-mining. A transverse channel or cutting made in the sides of an underground roadway.
1883in Gresley Gloss. Coal Mining.
▪ IV. gain, a. Obs. exc. dial.
Forms: 1 compar. ᵹénra, 4–5 geyn, gayn, 5 gayne, gane, 6– gain.
[a. ON. gegn adj., straight, direct, favourable, helpful:—OTeut. *gagino-, gagano-, whence OE. *ᵹęᵹn (found once in the comparative: see below); otherwise the stem is not found as adj. outside Scand., but occurs both in Scand. and WGer. as a prefix (ON. gagn-, OHG. gagan-, -en-, gegin-, MHG. and mod.G. gegen-, OE. ᵹęᵹn: see gain-), and in prep. and advb. forms (ON. gegn against, right opposite, contrary to, gegnum through, OHG. gagan, gegin, MHG. and mod.G. gegen towards, opposite to, OE. ᵹęᵹninga directly, straightway, altogether, ᵹęᵹnum forward; and see gain prep.).
For the root of the Teut. *gagano-, -ino-, which seems to express the sense of direct motion or direct opposition, no certain explanation is known. Some have supposed it formed by reduplication from the root of Go, and cognate with the (also reduplicated) Gr. κίχηµι I attain, meet with.]
1. Of roads or directions: Near, straight; esp. in superl. form, as the gainest way. [Cf. ON. hinn gegnsta veg acc.]
a1000Epistola Alexandri, Ðe ða ᵹenran weᵹas cuðan ðara siðfato [qui brevitates itinerum noverant]. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 319 Sir Jon tok the gayn stie. c1350Will. Palerne 4189 Þei..went forþ on here way wiȝtli and fast euer þe geynest gatis to goo to þe soþe. c1470Henry Wallace iv. 771 To the south ȝett the gaynest way he drew. 1538Leland Itin. I. 53 A vj Miles, by the gainest way. 1553N. Grimalde Cicero's Offices ii. (1558) 90 Socrates did saye: thys to bee the nerest and (as it wer) the gayne way to glory. 1647H. More Song of Soul ii. App. lxxxi, Which I conceive no gainer way is done Then by [etc.]. 1768Ross Helenore i. 17 [She] to the glen the gainest gate can fare. 1892Tennyson Churchw. & Curate iv, Fur I wur a Baptis wonst..Till I fun that it warn't not the gaäinist waäy to the narra Gaäte. Midland Proverb Roundabout is sometimes gainest.
b. In adverbial usage, the gainest [= ON. et gegnsta neut.]. Also at (the) gainest: by the shortest way: occas. = at random.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1973 For to f[e]rk þurȝ þe fryth, & fare at þe gaynest. c1400Destr. Troy 2996 The lady..glod on full gayly þe gaynist to the bonke. 1494Fabyan Chron. vii. 558 He drewe his swerde and layed about hym at y⊇ geynyst. 1549Chaloner Erasm. on Folly R iv a, Lyke a woman shotyng foorthe my bolte at the gainest. 1635Voy. Foxe & James to N. West (Hakluyt Soc.) 437, I direct my course at gainest.
2. Of persons: Ready, well-disposed, kindly.
a1310in Wright Lyric P. vi. 29 Geynest under gore, herkne to my roune. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 134 Þe ȝong kyng with gode man þat wer gayn Purueid his wendyng. 1441Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 207 Hys grace to me was evermore gayne, Thowgh I had don so gret offence. a1500Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.) ix. 7 Thou sende vs grace, if thou be gaine, to come to thee to nighte. 1508Dunbar Tua mariit wemen 78 When I gottin had ane grume, ganest of vther.
3. Of things: Available, handy, useful, convenient.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 259 To wham god hade geuen alle þat gayn were. c1320Sir Tristr. 878 Wiþ þat was comen to toun Rohand wiþ help ful gode And gayn. 1840Evid. Hull Docks Comm. 80 The dock would be so much gainer. 1868Atkinson Cleveland Gloss., Gain, near at hand, and so, handy, convenient.
▪ V. † gain, v.1 Obs.
Forms: 3 Orm. geᵹᵹnenn, 4–6 gayn(e, 4, 6 gaine, 4–5 geyn(e, 6 gane, 4, 8 gain. Also 5 north. gwane.
[a. ON. gegna, primarily, to meet, encounter, hence, to be meet, fit or suitable, from the adj. and adv. gegn against, opposite to (cf. gain a.). The form gawne may be due to the less common ON. gagna, a derivative of gagn = gegn, but was perhaps influenced by the vowel of gawin, the northern var. of gain n.1]
1. intr. To be suitable, useful, or advantageous; to avail, help; to serve, suffice (for). Const. dat. of person.
c1200Ormin 14480 Þatt mikell maȝȝ þe geȝȝnenn her To winnenn heffness blisse. c1230Hali Meid. 45 Ne geineð þe nawt sweoke. 13..E.E. Alitt. P. A. 343 For anger gaynez þe not a cresse. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 318 Thou and I been dampned to prisoun Perpetuelly, us gayneth no raunsoun. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy iii. xxiv, That hym ne geyneth plate, shelde nor targe. c1460Towneley Myst. (E.E.T.S.) xxx. 561 Youre pride and youre pransawte what wille it gawne? c1500Lancelot 121 It ganyth not..The seruand for to disput with ye lord. 1560Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 135 Thair was na thing absent Of gold, nor silk, that ganit sic cumpanie. 1603Philotus xxi, Ane pair of Pleuaris..Ane cup of Sack..May for ane breckfast gaine. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 61 Ae pair [of shoon] may gain ye haff a year.
2. trans.
a. To be an equipoise or balance to.
b. trans. Of sleep: To come upon (a person).
c. To meet, encounter, oppose.
c1350Will. Palerne 2473 So glad was he þanne þat na gref vnder god gayned to his ioye. c1400Destr. Troy 6046 This Agamynon, the grete, gaynit no slepe, Bise was the buerne all the bare night. a1500Chester Pl. viii. 157 There is none so great that me [Herod] dare gaine.
▪ VI. gain, v.2|geɪn|
Forms: 6–7 gayne, gaine, 7– gain.
[App. first recorded in 16th c.; ad. F. gagner (earlier spelling gaigner):—OF. gaaignier = Pr. gazanhar, OSp. guadañar (to mow), It. guadagnare:—Com. Rom. *gwadaniare, ad. OHG. *weidinjan (recorded form weidenen), used in two main senses (1) to graze, pasture, (2) to go in quest of fodder or food, to forage, hunt or fish, f. weida str. fem., fodder or food, pasture, pursuit of fodder or food, hunting (mod.Ger. weide pasture, pasturage), corresp. to OE. wáð, ON. veið-r hunting:—OTeut. *waiþâ, -þjâ. The twofold sense of the OHG. verb seems to be reflected in the Rom. form, which was used for ‘to cultivate land’ (so in OFr.; see gain v.3, gainage, gainor), as well as for ‘to gain, win, earn’; the latter sense, which the word retains in mod.Fr. and It., may be in part developed from the OHG. sense ‘to hunt’.]
1. a. trans. To obtain or secure (something which is desired or advantageous).
1570Levins Manip. 200 To Gayne, lucrari. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 93 If the Gods thought no scorne to become beastes to obteine their best beloued, shall Euphues be so nice in chaunging his coppie to gayne his Ladie? 1595W. C[larke] in Shaks. C. Praise 15 To gaine pardon of the sinne to Rosemond. 1638Rouse Heav. Univ. x. (1702) 152 Let therefore both the plenty and excellency of thy fruit gain glory and praise to the Heavenly Husband⁓man. 1736Butler Anal. i. iii. Wks. 1874 I. 54 The pleasure or advantage in this case, is gained by the action itself. 1814Scott Wav. x, Rose..ran with the speed of a fairy, that she might gain leisure..to put her own dress in order. 1816J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art II. 144 Part of the effect which would otherwise be gained is lost. 1828D'Israeli Chas. I, I. ii. 22 Whatever art and practice could acquire, he gained. 1892Speaker 3 Sept. 292/2 Christians have not gained their belief by the method on which he lays so unremitting a stress.
⁋In the following passage the word is a literal rendering of the Gr. κερδαίνειν. The sense of the original is disputed; most scholars, regarding the clause as qualified by the foregoing negative, take the verb as having, with or without a touch of irony, the extended sense ‘to obtain whatever good or bad’ (Johnson, s.v. Gain); so Liddell and Scott, also Revised Version (‘gotten’). Others assign to the Gr. vb. the sense ‘to spare oneself, avoid, save’; so De Wette, Alford, Blass, and others. Both uses of the vb. occur in Gr. writers; it is not at all clear which view was taken by the translators, or whether they deliberately adopted an ambiguous rendering.
1557N. T. (Genev.) Acts xxvii. 21 Ye should have hearkened to me, and not haue lowsed from Candie, and to haue gayned this iniurie and losse. [Similarly in 1611.]
b. Phrase. to gain time [= F. gagner du temps, gagner temps]: to obtain a delay by pretexts, by a slow or circuitous mode of procedure, etc. to gain the ear of: to induce to listen favourably (see ear n. 6). to gain the wind [= F. gagner le vent]: Naut. (see quot. 1867).
[1611Bible Dan. ii. 8, I know of certeinty that ye would gaine the time (a literal rendering of the Aramaic zbn).] 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 49 Ambiguous answers..might serve to gain time. 1735Pope Prol. Sat. 367 If on a pillory, or near a throne, He gain his prince's ear, or lose his own. 1792Cowper To Wilberforce 7 Thou hast achieved a part; hast gained the ear of Britain's senate to thy glorious cause. a1859Macaulay Hist. Eng. V. 157 His eloquence had gained for him the ear of the legislature. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v., To gain the wind, to arrive on the weather-side of some other vessel in sight, when both are plying to windward. 1884[see ear n. 6]. 1885J. Payn Talk of Town I. 89 Frank Dennis was of the party and could gain her ear at any moment.
c. With inf. as object [= F. gagner à être, à faire]: To attain, get (to be or to do something). Now rare.
1648Eikon Bas. xi. 78 Whose Propositions may soon proov violent oppositions, if once they gain to bee necessarie impositions upon the Regal Autoritie. 1833–40J. H. Newman Ch. of Fathers (1842) 295 By fasting, Daniel gained to interpret the King's dream. 1873Browning Red Cott. Nt.-cap 230 What if I gain thereby nor health of mind..Nor gain to see my second baby-hope.
2. a. To obtain (a sum of money) as the profits of trade or speculation; to be benefited to the extent of (so much) by any transaction or event; to obtain, earn, ‘make’ (a livelihood).
1530Palsgr. 559/2 Some men gayne more of a thyng of naught than many marchauntes do that venture over see. 1538Elyot, Quæstuariæ artes, craftes, wherby men do gayne money. 1611Bible Matt. xxv. 22 Lord, thou deliueredst vnto me two talents: behold I haue gained [1535 Coverdale, wonne] two other talents besides them. ― Luke xix. 16 Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 1672Petty Pol. Anat. (1691) 38 There are also..sworn Attornies, gaining about 170l. per ann. one with another. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 258 She..Gain'd for her own a scanty sustenance. Mod. He gains a hundred a year by his change of employment. He gained {pstlg}1000 by the fall in consols.
b. In wider sense: To obtain (a quantity of anything, an amount of available space or time) by way of increment or addition.
1612Brinsley Lud. Lit. 105 For parsing to do it of them⁓selues: as reading a lecture without any question asked..which maner of parsing gaineth half the time which is spent therin commonly. 1730Capt. W. Wriglesworth MS. Log-bk. of the ‘Lyell’ 2 Dec., New stowed the Lar⁓board side of the Lazaretto forward, and gained 2 Butts over the Scuttle, and small Cask over them.
3. a. absol. or intr. To make a gain or profit; to be benefited or advantaged, whether pecuniarily or otherwise.
c1572Gascoigne Fruites Warre lxix, Though he gaine & cram his purse with crounes,..He nought forseeth what treasons dwells in Townes. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iii. ii. 51 He gaines by death, that hath such meanes to die. 1865Kingsley Herew. Prel. (1877) 10 We have gained, doubtless, by that calamity. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 489 When they [mankind] might gain in moderation they prefer gains without limit.
b. To improve in some specified respect. [= F. gagner en.]
1841Emerson Compensation Wks. (Bohn) I. 40 Our popular theology has gained in decorum and not in principle. 1847Tennyson Princess vii. 265 He [must] gain in sweetness and in moral height. 1890Chamb. Jrnl. 17 May 309/2 The experience will gain in romance from our necessities.
c. To improve in effect, appear to greater advantage (by comparison or contrast).
1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 475 The English Liturgy indeed gains by being compared even with those fine ancient Liturgies from which it is to a great extent taken.
d. Of a clock, watch, etc.: to become fast (fast a. 8 c); to indicate a time ahead of the correct time. Also trans., to run fast by the amount of (a specified period).
1861Horological Jrnl. June 123/2 When the watch is in a horizontal position, the weight of the balance is supported on a single point, hence its greater freedom of motion and tendency to gain. Ibid. Nov. 36 Columns 3 to 7 show the mean daily rate for each of the five weeks, gaining when no sign is used, and losing when the - sign is used. 1863Ibid. July 121/1 In the same temperature..it was gaining two seconds and one tenth. 1870‘Mark Twain’ in Galaxy X. 882/2 My beautiful new watch had run eighteen months without losing or gaining. 1917H. E. Dudeney Amusements in Math. 10/1 Does that watch gain or lose, and how much per hour? Ibid. 153/2 It gains 5/11 of a minute in 65 minutes. 1946D. de Carle Pract. Watch Repairing 154 It is possible to make the watch gain by making the balance heavy at its lowest point. Ibid. 266 The watch may suddenly gain a few seconds due to the coils of the balance spring sticking together. 1970Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 267/2 The watch would tend to gain.
4. trans. To acquire or reclaim (land) from the sea, etc. Const. from, out of, † upon.
1641Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 26 This part of Amsterdam is built and gained upon the main sea, supported by piles. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. lxxii, Wharfing, gain'd from the Thames, and..probably..all Thames-street..was gain'd out of the Thames. 1765Act 5 Geo. III c. 26 Preamb., Lands thentofore overflowed by and then gained from the sea and reduced to dry soil. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 132 In proportion as land is gained at one part, it is lost by the overflowing of some other. 1845Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. (1874) I. 452 Lands gained from the sea.
5. a. To obtain or win as the result of a contest; † to take or capture in fight.
1548Hall Chron., Hen. V, 66 b, Perceivyng the walles skaled and the market place gained. Ibid., Hen. VI, 176 After the kynges navye gayned, and his capitayns..taken and destroied. Ibid. 177 The great victorie, gayned by hys parte, at the feld of Northampton. 1617F. Moryson Itin. ii. 83 When we had gained the trenches, the Vanguard made a stand. 1682Wood Life 22 Nov., The Duke of York hath gained the point as to the penny post against Docuray the manager of it. 1782Cowper Truth 16 A meaner than himself shall gain the prize. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 701 He of course gains a complete victory. 1885Manch. Exam. 29 June 5/1 In that case the worst tendencies of the party will gain the upper hand. 1892Times (weekly ed.) 11 Nov. 5/2 A judgment gained against the railway company in the Law Courts.
b. To be victorious in.
1725Watts Logic iii. ii. §6 Either I shall gain the cause or lose it. 1852Tennyson Ode Wellington 96 He that gain'd a hundred fights.
†c. absol. to gain of: to win an advantage over.
1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 125 b, Leavyng bothe the nacions, daily studiyng how to greve, and gain of the other. 1605Camden Rem. 8 That the most puissant Roman forces, when they were at the highest, could not gaine of them.
6. a. To bring over to one's own interest or views, to persuade (often in bad sense, to bribe); also to gain over. [So F. gagner.]
1582N. T. (Rhem.) Matt. xviii. 15 If he shal heare thee, thou shalt gaine [Gr. ἐκέρδησας, Vulg. lucratus eris] thy brother. 1582Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 46 His malice hee fostred, tyl that priest Calchas he gayned. 1697Dryden æneid i. 953 To come with presents laden, from the port, To gratify the queen, and gain the court. 1790Bystander 91 Gradually, since that time, have the theatres gained over the newspapers. 1813Byron Corsair iii. viii, I have gain'd the guard. 1834J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1837) I. xxiii. 348 He did not try to gain him over by smooth representations. 1878R. W. Dale Lect. Preach. i. 17 It is much easier to lose friends than to gain opponents.
b. With following inf.: To persuade, prevail upon (now rare exc. with over). † Also, to persuade into a course of action.
1681Dryden Abs. & Achit. 404 And gain'd our Elders to pronunce a Foe. 1683― Vind. Dk. Guise Wks. 1883 VII. 188 For Henry III. could never be gained to pass it, though it was proposed by the Three Estates at Blois. 1715J. Barker Exilius II. 85 Almon..begg'd of her to gain me, if possible, to come once more to him. 1741Middleton Cicero II. ix. 251 [Antony] having thus gained Lepidus into his measures, he made use of his authority and his forces to harass and terrify the opposite party. 1818Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. iv. 128 By a sum of money, Bussy gained the deputy Governor to admit him secretly with his troops into the fort.
7. a. To reach, arrive at (some point desired or aimed at).
1605Shakes. Macb. iii. iii. 7 Now spurres the lated traueller apace, To gayne the timely inne. 1667Milton P.L. v. 174 Sun..sound his praise..both when thou climb'st, And when high Noon hast gaind. 1720Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. II. xiv. 334 Antony press'd by Decimus Brutus, endeavoured to gain the Alps. 1784Cowper Task i. 278 The summit gained, behold the proud Alcove That crowns it! 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. xii, At last a sofa was gained, and the great lady was seated. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 111 There were some who..sprang into the river and gained the opposite bank.
†b. absol. to gain in: to get home, or to reach a place of refuge. Obs.
1828J. S. Sebright Observ. Hawking 41 They must be found in an open country; and the wood, which is their place of retreat, must be so situated as to oblige them to fly against the wind to gain in.
c. To succeed in traversing, accomplish (a certain distance of a journey). Now rare.
1733Swift Apol. 133 You unus'd have scarcely strength To gain this walk's untoward length. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xiii, Edward had gained above eight miles of his journey.
†d. to gain one's way: to advance, make progress. Obs.
1768Sir W. Jones Solima Poems (1777) 4 Through the thick forest gains her easy way.
8. to gain ground [= F. gagner du terrain, du pays]: originally Mil. to conquer ground from an adversary: cf. equivalent phrases s.v. ground; hence in the following uses:
a. To make progress, advance; to acquire ascendency.
1625Bacon Ess., Suspicion (Arb.) 134 But in fearefull Natures, they [suspicions] gaine Ground too fast. 1736Berkeley Let. to S. Johnson 12 Mar., Wks. 1871 IV. 245 Learning and good sense are gaining ground among them. 1764Foote Patron i. Wks. 1799 I. 331 A glorious cargo of turtle..the captain assures me they greatly gain'd ground on the voyage. 1807Med. Jrnl. XVII. 440 He recommended this particular practice to the world. Since then, it has been progressively gaining ground. 1838Thirlwall Greece III. 319 The Chalcidians appear to have gained ground in the peninsula of Athos. 1862H. Spencer First Princ. i. iv. §22 (1867) 68 The conviction, so reached, that human intelligence is incapable of absolute knowledge, is one that has been slowly gaining ground as civilization has advanced. 1888Mrs. H. Ward R. Elsmere II. xxxvi, Nay, she had flattered herself that Mr. Flaxman, whom she liked, was gaining ground.
b. to gain ground on († of): to make progress at the expense of, to encroach upon.
1644Sir G. Markham in Calend. St. Papers Domestic Ser. (1888) 86, I hear that Essex loses credit with his party, and Waller gains ground of him. 1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins (1884) II. xxv. 294 My melancholy for the death of my wife, which I hoped time would wear off, rather gained ground upon me. 1767Blackstone Comm. II. 75 Villeins, by this and many other means, in process of time gained considerable ground on their lords. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 240 The Parliament was slowly, but constantly, gaining ground on the prerogative.
c. to gain ground upon: to advance nearer to a person pursued.
1816Scott Antiq. vii, Each minute did their enemy gain ground perceptibly upon them!
†d. to gain ground of: to draw further away from (a pursuer), surpass in speed. Obs.
1719De Foe Crusoe i. xiv, He outstript them..in running, and gained ground of them.
9. intr. or absol. with preps.
a. to gain from: to get further away from (a pursuer). ? Obs. (Cf. 8 d.)
1805E. Berry in Nicolas Nelson's Disp. (1846) VII. 118 note, I had the satisfaction to perceive that we gained from the Three-decker.
b. to gain on or gain upon [= F. gagner sur]: to encroach upon (now only of the sea encroaching on the land). (Cf. 8 b.)
1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lxix. (1739) 179 It was no time for him to gain upon the people's Liberties. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 500 Herons..mounting upward..Gain on the Skies, and soar above the Sight. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. xxvi. 323 They built a fine City on the Rivers Side, about 3 Leagues from the Sea; but the Sea gaining on the Land yearly, it is not now above 100 Paces from it. 1842Tennyson Golden Year 29 Oceans daily gaining on the land. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 345 The sea was gradually gaining on the buildings, which at length almost entirely disappeared.
c. to gain on or gain upon [= F. gagner sur]: to come closer to some object pursued. (Cf. 8 c.)
1719De Foe Crusoe 19 Finding the Pirate gain'd upon us..we prepared to fight. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. v. 177 We gained considerably on the chace. 1841James Brigand iii, We are gaining on them quick. 1864Tennyson Voyage viii, And still we follow'd where she led, In hope to gain upon her flight.
d. to gain on or gain upon: to win favour with.
1640tr. Verdere's Romant of Romants i. 41 The most agreeable services he is able to do her..have already so gained upon her, as she hath wholly given her self unto him. 1652Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) 305, I never heard that Mr. Attorney was popular with the K.'s party, nor do I take his disposition to be such as is like to gain much on the affections of many men. a1715Burnet Own Time II. 16 Lady Bellasis gained so much on the duke, that he gave her a promise under his hand to marry her. 1848Dickens Dombey v, She don't gain on her papa in the least. 1884Manch. Exam. 12 May 5/3 Mr. Villiers Stanford's beautiful opera..gains more and more upon musicians at each successive hearing.
†e. to gain upon = ‘to prevail upon’; cf. 6 b.
1790A. M. Johnson Monmouth III. 107 The sweet idea that my entreaties may gain upon the King to spare his nephew, will supply this emaciated frame with strength, and my soul with fortitude.
† f. to gain into: to grow into, to come to be.
1756P. Browne Jamaica i. ii. §4 (1789) 23 They are observed to be remarkably fond of grandeur and distinction, which, doubtless, proceeds from the general obsequiousness of their numerous slaves and dependents, as well as from the necessity of keeping them at a distance; which in time gains into a habit.
▪ VII. † gain, v.3 Obs. pseudo-arch.
[ad. AF. gaaignier to cultivate (land).]
(See quots.)
1641Termes de la Ley 170 (tr. Act 51 Hen. III) That no man of religion or other shall be distreined by the beasts that gaine his land. 1708Ibid. 383 Of old to Gain Land was as much as to Till and Manure it.
▪ VIII. gain, v.4 ? U.S.|geɪn|
[f. gain n.3]
trans. ‘To mortise’ (Cent. Dict.); ‘to fasten with gains or notches, or cut gains in, as floor-timbers’ (Funk).
1874[implied in gaining vbl. n.2].
▪ IX. gain, adv.1 Obs. exc. dial.
Also 4 gayn, gayne.
[f. gain a.]
Straight, direct; full gayne: quickly; also, very nearly.
In the passages quoted from the Fairfax MS. of the Cursor M. the other texts have differing readings; the Gött. MS. has 4142 forgan, 5171 gan (riming with slan) which may be the original.
c1320Sir Tristr. 1560 Þe quen..To a baþ gan him lede Ful gayn. [c1340Cursor M. 4142 (Fairf.) And wete our fader atte he be slayne his liue dayes ar past ful gayne. Ibid. 5171 (Fairf.), xxx. ȝere ys comyn fulle gayne syn he wiþ wild bestes was slayne.] c1400Destr. Troy 2813 Gayn vnto Grese on þe gray water, By the Regions of Rene rode þai ferre.
b. dial. Used to qualify adjectives and adverbs: Pretty, tolerably, fairly. [Cf. the Sc. gey an' under ]
1893Northumbld. Gloss. s.v., ‘She's gain fresh this mornin'. Aa've hed a gain thrang time on 't thi day.’ 1895Gloss. E. Anglia s.v., ‘Gain quiet', pretty quiet.
▪ X. † gain, adv.2 Obs.
Also 3 ȝein.
[app. arising from separation of the prefix gain-.]
Again, back again.
c1275Lay. 22136 Þat he to him come..to habbe ȝein his owe. a1300Cursor M. 12809 Mi breþer leif and mi freind, Yee sal gain to yur maisturs wend. Ibid. 22623 Þou yeild us gain vr ostel nu, þat us es reft, and we ne wat hu.
▪ XI. † gain, prep. Obs.
Forms: 3 ȝæn, 4 gain(e, gayn(e, gan, 4–5 geyn, 5 gayn, 6 geyne.
[app. a. ON. gegn: see gain a.
Not known in OE., the instances given in Dicts. being due to erroneous readings. Ormin's ȝæn seems to be short for onnȝæn again.]
1. Against, over against, contrary to.
c1200Ormin 2322 All all swa summ Elysabæþ Shall nu ȝæn kinde childenn. a1300Cursor M. 21825 Anoþer king gan þe sal rise. Ibid. 22631 Windes on ilk side sal rise, Sa fast gain oþer sal þai blau. 14..Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 111 Gayn gostly enmys thynk on my passion. a1529Skelton Knolege, aquayntance, etc. 20 Geyne surfetous suspecte the emeraud comendable.
2. Towards, to meet with.
a1300Cursor M. 5244 Joseph of his fader herd, Wit his curt gain him he ferd. Ibid. 19920 Quen þai o petre vnder⁓stod, His cuming son gain him þai yod.
3. Of time: Towards, near. Now in Sc. gin.
c1475Partenay 345 Where it were gayn night or at morne erlie. |