different between avail vs gain
avail
English
Etymology
From Middle English availen (“to be of use”), from Old French a (“to”) + vail (from valoir (“to be worth”)).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??ve?l/
- Rhymes: -e?l
Verb
avail (third-person singular simple present avails, present participle availing, simple past and past participle availed)
- (transitive, often reflexive) To turn to the advantage of.
- (transitive) To be of service to.
- (transitive) To promote; to assist.
- (intransitive) To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.
- (India, Africa, elsewhere proscribed) To provide; to make available.
Antonyms
- disavail
Derived terms
- available
- disavail
Related terms
Translations
Noun
avail (plural avails)
- Effect in achieving a goal or aim; purpose, use (now usually in negative constructions). [from 15thc.]
- Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
- 2014, Paul Doyle, "Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian, 18 October:
- At half-time, Poyet replaced Wes Brown with Liam Bridcutt in the heart of defence and sent out the rest of the players to atone for their first-half mistakes. To no avail.
- (now only US) Proceeds; profits from business transactions. [from 15thc.]
- 1862, Elijah Porter Barrows, The State And Slavery
- the avails of their own industry
- 1862, Elijah Porter Barrows, The State And Slavery
- (television, advertising) An advertising slot or package.
- (US, politics, journalism) A press avail.
- (Britain, acting) Non-binding notice of availability for work.
- (oil industry) A readily available stock of oil.
- (obsolete) Benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success. [15th-19thc.]
- (obsolete, poetic) Effort; striving.
Usage notes
- (success or benefit): Very often encountered in negative phrases, such as of or to no or little avail.
Translations
Anagrams
- Alavi, Alvia, Avila
avail From the web:
- what avail means
- what available on hbo max
- what available balance and current balance
- what availability
- what available on hulu
- what available on disney plus
- what available on netflix
- what availability do you have
gain
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?e?n/
- Rhymes: -e?n
Etymology 1
From Middle English gayn, gain, gein (“profit, advantage”), from Old Norse gagn (“benefit, advantage, use”), from Proto-Germanic *gagn?, *gagan? (“gain, profit", literally "return”), from Proto-Germanic *gagana (“back, against, in return”), a reduplication of Proto-Germanic *ga- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *?óm (“next to, at, with, along”). Cognate with Icelandic gagn (“gain, advantage, use”), Swedish gagn (“benefit, profit”), Danish gavn (“gain, profit, success”), Gothic ???????????????????????????????? (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 (“to till, earn, win”), from Frankish *waidanjan (“to pasture, graze, hunt for food”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waiþiz, *waiþ?, *waiþij? (“pasture, field, hunting ground”); compare Old High German weid?n, weidan?n (“to hunt, forage for food”) (Modern German Weide (“pasture”)), Old Norse veiða (“to catch, hunt”), Old English w?þan (“to hunt, chase, pursue”). Related to wathe, wide.
Verb
gain (third-person singular simple present gains, present participle gaining, simple past and past participle gained)
- (transitive) To acquire possession of.
- Looks like you've gained a new friend.
- (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.
- (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
- (transitive) To increase.
- 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V
- Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength.
- 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V
- (intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
- I'm gaining (on you).
- gain ground
- (transitive) To reach.
- to gain the top of a mountain
- 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel:
- Ernest laughed harshly and savagely when he had gained the street.
- 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.
- to gratify the queen, and gain the court
- (intransitive) To put on weight.
- I've been gaining.
- (of a clock or watch) To run fast.
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)
- The act of gaining; acquisition.
- 1855, Alfred Tennyson, Maude
- the lust of gain, in the spirit of Cain
- 1855, Alfred Tennyson, Maude
- What is gained.
- (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.
- 1987, John Borwick, Sound recording practice (page 238)
Antonyms
- loss
Derived terms
- autogain
- gainful
- gainsome
- gain-ground (game)
Translations
Etymology 2
From dialectal English gen, gin, short for again, agen (“against”); also Middle English gain, gayn, gein, ?æn (“against”), from Old English g?an, ge?n (“against”). More at against.
Preposition
gain
- (obsolete) Against.
Derived terms
- gainful
Etymology 3
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.
Adjective
gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)
- (obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.
- the gainest way
- (obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.
- (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
- (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.
Translations
Derived terms
- gainly
- gainsome
Adverb
gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)
- (obsolete) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
- (dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
- (dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.
- gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)
Etymology 4
Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).
Noun
gain (plural gains)
- (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.
Anagrams
- Agin, Agni, Angi, Gina, NGIA, Nagi, Ngai, a- -ing, ag'in, agin, gina, inga
Basque
Noun
gain
- summit
French
Etymology
From Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from the verb gaaignier (“to earn, gain, seize, conquer by force”), from Frankish *waidanjan (“to graze, forage, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic *waiþ? (“a hunt, pasture, food”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyh?- (“to seek, crave, hunt”). Cognate with Old High German weidan?n (“to hunt, chase”), German Weide (“pasture, pasturage”). Compare also related Old French gain (“harvest time, revival”), from Frankish *waida (“income, food, fodder”) (whence French regain), from the same Germanic source.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /???/
Noun
gain m (plural gains)
- (usually in the plural) winnings, earnings, takings
- (finance) gain, yield
Derived terms
- gain de cause
- gain du temps
Further reading
- “gain” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Louisiana Creole French
Etymology
From French gagner (“to gain”), compare Haitian Creole gen.
Verb
gain
- to have
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old Norse gegn.
Adjective
gain
- Alternative form of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”)
Etymology 2
From Old Norse gagn.
Noun
gain
- Alternative form of gayn (“gain, reward, advantage”)
Etymology 3
From Old Norse gegna.
Verb
gain
- Alternative form of gaynen
Etymology 4
From Old English ?e?n, gæ?n, from Proto-Germanic *gagin; also influenced by Old Norse gegn, from the same Proto-Germanic form. Doublet of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”).
Alternative forms
- gayn, gein, ?æn, ?ein, ?ean, gayne, gen, gan, gaine, geyn
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??i?n/, /?e?n/, /j?i?n/, /je?n/
Preposition
gain
- against, next to, touching
- (figuratively) against, opposed to, counter to, opposing (usually used in religious and spiritual contexts)
- towards, to, nearing
- (rare) on, on top of
- (rare) facing, pointed towards
Descendants
- English: gain (obsolete)
- Scots: gain, gin
References
- “y??n, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-23.
Adverb
gain
- back (to), returning (to)
References
- “y??n, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-23.
Middle French
Etymology
Old French gaaing.
Noun
gain m (plural gains)
- income (financial)
Descendants
- French: gain
References
- gain on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ai?n/
Adjective
gain
- Soft mutation of cain.
Mutation
gain From the web:
- what gains electrons
- what gaineth a man
- what gain means
- what gains weight
- what gaineth a man if he
- what gain should you record at
- what gained independence from spain in 1821
- what gains value over time
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