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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

5 entries under this word

Gain

Gāin, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. GAINED; p. pr. & vb. n. GAINING.] [Fr. gagner, Pr. gazanhar, for gadanhar, It. guadagnare, to earn, gain, O. Fr. gaigner, to cultivate, L. Lat. gainare, to plow, till, from O. H. Ger. weidanōn, weidanjan, to feed, hunt, weida, pasture. Cf. A. S. gyman, to gain, Icel. & Sw. gagna, gena, Dan. garne, to profit, Icel. & Sw. gagna, Dan. garn, advantage.] 1. To get, as profit or advantage; to acquire; to win; to obtain or acquire by effort or labor; as, to gain a good living. What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Matt. xvi. 26. Impotent To gain dominion, or to keep it gained. Milton. For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease. Pope.

  1. To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; as, to gain a battle; to gain a case at law; to obtain by competition; as, to gain a prize.
  2. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.

If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. Matt. xviii. To gratify the queen, and gain the court. Dryden. 4. To reach; to attain to; to arrive at; as, to gain the top of a mountain; to gain a good harbor. “Forded Usk and gained the wood.” Tennyson. To gain ground, to advance in any undertaking; to prevail; to acquire strength or extent; to increase.—To gain o'er, to draw to another party or interest; to win over.—To gain the wind (Naut.), to reach the windward side of another ship. Syn.—To obtain; acquire; get; procure; win; earn; achieve. See OBTAIN.—TO GAIN, WIN. Gain implies only that we get something by exertion; win, that we do it in competition with others. A person gains knowledge, or gains a prize, simply by striving for it; he wins a victory, or wins a prize, by taking it from others in a struggle between them. Compute the gains of this ungoverned zeal; Ill suits his cloth the praise of railing well. Dryden. Loyalty is still the same, Whether it win or lose the game; True as the dial to the sun, Although it be not shined upon. Hudibras.

Gāin, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To have advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest or happiness.

Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by extortion. Ezek. xxii. 12.

Thanks to you, That called me timelier than my purpose hither, For I have gained by it. Shak.

To gain on or upon, to encroach on; to obtain influence with; to win ground upon, in a race or contest; hence, to get the better of; to have the advantage of.

The English have not only gained upon the Venetians in the Levant, but have their cloth in Venice itself. Addison.

My good behavior had so far gained on the emperor, that I began to conceive hopes of liberty. Swift.

Gāin, n.

noun

n. [Fr. gain, Pr. gazanh, It. guadagno. See supra.] 1. That which is gained, obtained, or acquired, as profit or advantage; profit; advantage; benefit; winning; — opposed to loss. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Phil. iii. 7. Every one shall share in the gains. Shak. 2. The obtaining or amassing of profit or valuable possessions; acquisition; accumulation. “The lust of gain.” Fitzgerald.

Gāin, n.

noun

n. [W. gân, a mortise.] (Arch.) A beveled shoulder of a binding joist, for the purpose of giving additional resistance to the tenon below.

Gāin, a.

adjective

a. [Cf. Sw. gagn, advantage, gagna, to profit, gagnelig, useful; A-S. ungägne, adv., fruitlessly, vain. See GAIN, v. t.] [Prov. Eng.]

  1. Handy; dexterous; suitable; convenient.
  2. Profitable; cheap.
  3. Near; contiguous.
  4. Respectable; honest.