different between gain vs fill

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)

1. (transitive) To acquire possession of.

   Looks like you've gained a new friend.
2. (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.
3. (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

4. (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.

5. (intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.

   I'm gaining (on you).

   gain ground

6. (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.

7. 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

8. (intransitive) To put on weight.

   I've been gaining.

10. (of a clock or watch) To run fast.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

gain (countable and uncountable, plural gains)

1. The act of gaining; acquisition.
   • 1855, Alfred Tennyson, Maude

     the lust of gain, in the spirit of Cain

2. What is gained.
3. (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.

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

1. (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)

1. (obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.

   the gainest way

2. (obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.
3. (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
4. (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.

Translations

Derived terms

• gainly
• gainsome

Adverb

gain (comparative more gain, superlative most gain)

1. (obsolete) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
2. (dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
3. (dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.

   gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)

Etymology 4

Compare Welsh gan (“a mortise”).

Noun

gain (plural gains)

1. (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

1. 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)

1. (usually in the plural) winnings, earnings, takings
2. (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

1. to have

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old Norse gegn.

Adjective

gain

1. Alternative form of gayn (“direct, fast, good, helpful”)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gagn.

Noun

gain

1. Alternative form of gayn (“gain, reward, advantage”)

Etymology 3

From Old Norse gegna.

Verb

gain

1. 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

2. against, next to, touching
3. (figuratively) against, opposed to, counter to, opposing (usually used in religious and spiritual contexts)
4. towards, to, nearing
5. (rare) on, on top of
6. (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

1. 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)

1. income (financial)

Descendants

• French: gain

References

• gain on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ai?n/

Adjective

gain

1. Soft mutation of cain.

Mutation

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: f?l, IPA^(key): /f?l/, [f??]
• Rhymes: -?l
• Homophone: Phil

Etymology 1

From Middle English fillen, fullen, from Old English fyllan (“to fill, fill up, replenish, satisfy; complete, fulfill”), from Proto-Germanic *fullijan? (“to make full, fill”), from *fullaz (“full”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl?h?nós (“full”). Cognate with Scots fill (“to fill”), West Frisian folje (“to fill”), Low German füllen (“to fill”), Dutch vullen (“to fill”), German füllen (“to fill”), Danish fylde (“to fill”), Swedish fylla (“to fill”), Norwegian fylle (“to fill”), Icelandic fylla (“to fill”) and Latin plenus (“full”)

Verb

fill (third-person singular simple present fills, present participle filling, simple past and past participle filled)

1. (transitive) To occupy fully, to take up all of.
   • c. 1761, Tobias Smollett, translator, Don Quixote, part 2, book 5, chapter 4:

     […] the drums began to thunder, the sound of trumpets filled the air, the earth trembled beneath their feet, and the hearts of the gazing multitude throbbed with suspense and expectation […]

   • c. 1860, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, chapter 38:

     And now that I have given the one chapter to the theme that so filled my heart, and so often made it ache and ache again, I pass on, unhindered, to the event that had impended over me longer yet […] .

2. (transitive) To add contents to (a container, cavity, or the like) so that it is full.
   • 1950, Arthur W. Upfield, The Bachelors of Broken Hill, chapter 11:

     She continued to frown as she filled Bony's cup and added brandy to her own.

   • 2005, Wendy Coakley-Thompson, What You Won't Do for Love, 2006 edition, ?ISBN, page 10 [1]:

     She forgave him the pain as he filled the cavity in her back molar. Three weeks later, she let him fill a more intimate cavity.

   • 2006, Gilbert Morris, Sante Fe Woman, B&H, page 95 [2]:

     Grat Herendeen was the first man, a huge man with his bull whip coiled and over his shoulder seeming almost a part of him. He grinned at her as she filled his plate with the eggs and motioned toward the bacon. "Help yourself, Grat."

3. To enter (something), making it full.
   • 1910 May 13, John C. Sherwin, opinion, Delashmutt et al. v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. et al., reprinted in volume 126, North Western Reporter, page 359, at 360:

     In the evening of the 14th of July, there was a rainfall of 3 or 3½ inches in that locality. The water filled the ditch so full that it overflowed the levees on both sides in many places […] .

   • 2004, Peter Westen, The Logic of Consent, Ashgate, ?ISBN, page 322 [3]:

     As the crowd filled the aisles, S repeated loudly what he had announced upon entering the stadium: 'I don't want anyone to touch me, and I will call the police if anyone does.'

4. (intransitive) To become full.

5. (intransitive) To become pervaded with something.

6. (transitive) To satisfy or obey (an order, request, or requirement).

7. (transitive) To install someone, or be installed, in (a position or office), eliminating a vacancy.
   • 1891 January 23, Allen Morse, opinion, Lawrence v. Hanley, reprinted in volume 47, Northwestern Reporter, page 753, at 755:

     The board of supervisors called a specal^[sic] election to fill the office, and at such special election Henry C. Andrews was elected judge of probate to fill out the said term.

8. (transitive) To treat (a tooth) by adding a dental filling to it.
   • a. 1891, "Intimate Diagnosis of Diseased Teeth", in Items of Interest: A Monthly Magazine of Dental Art, Science and Literature, volume 13, number 11, November 1891, page 657 [4]:

     Be that as it may, had the disturbance continued after our having filled the molar, and presuming that nothing had been done to the bicuspid, we might have been still as far as ever from knowing where the trouble lay.

9. (transitive) To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.

   • Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
10. (transitive, nautical) To trim (a yard) so that the wind blows on the after side of the sails.
11. (transitive, slang, vulgar, of a male) To have sexual intercourse with (a female).

Synonyms

• (occupy fully, take up all of): pervade
• (have sexual intercourse with a female): dick, get up in, knob, swive; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Antonyms

• (add contents to a container or cavity): empty
• (to become full): empty

Hyponyms

• backfill
• polyfill
• refill

Derived terms

• backfill
• filler
• filling
• forthfill
• fulfill, fulfil
• overfill

Related terms

Related terms

• full

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English fille, vülle, fülle, from Old English fyllu, from Proto-Germanic *full?? (“fullness”). Cognate with German Fülle.

Noun

fill (plural fills)

1. (after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount.

   Don't feed him any more: he's had his fill.

   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night:

     Then they set somewhat of food before me, whereof I ate my fill, and gave me somewhat of clothes wherewith I clad myself anew and covered my nakedness; after which they took me up into the ship, […]

2. An amount that fills a container.

   The mixer returned to the plant for another fill.

3. The filling of a container or area.

   That machine can do 20 fills a minute.

   This paint program supports lines, circles, and textured fills.

4. Inexpensive material used to occupy empty spaces, especially in construction.

   The ruins of earlier buildings were used as fill for more recent construction.

5. (archaeology) Soil and/or human-created debris discovered within a cavity or cut in the layers and exposed by excavation; fill soil.
6. An embankment, as in railroad construction, to fill a hollow or ravine; also, the place which is to be filled.
7. (music) A short passage, riff, or rhythmic sound that helps to keep the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody.

   bass fill

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• fill soil
• fill up

Translations

Etymology 3

See thill.

Noun

fill (plural fills)

1. One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Mortimer to this entry?)

   • 2008, Martha E. Green, Pioneers in Pith Helmets

     It was a challenge to learn to harness him, guide him slowly back between the fills of the carriage, then to fasten the right buckles and snaps, making the harness and buggy all ready for travel to church or to town.

Albanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fi??/

Etymology 1

Borrowed through Vulgar Latin from Latin filum.

Noun

fill m (plural fije)

1. thread, yarn

Etymology 2

Unclear. Probably from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, stell; fixed, motionless, still, stiff”)

Adverb

fill

1. at once, immediately, alone
2. instant

Derived terms

• filloj
• zanafillë

Catalan

Etymology

From Old Occitan filh, from Latin f?lius, from Latin f?lios (“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?eh?y-li-os (“sucker”), a derivation from the verbal root *d?eh?(y)- (“to suck”). Cognate to Occitan filh, French fils.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /?fi?/
• Rhymes: -i?

Noun

fill m (plural fills)

1. son

Derived terms

• fill de puta

Related terms

• afillar
• filial
• filla

Further reading

• “fill” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /f?i?l?/
• (Galway) IPA^(key): /f?i?l??/
• (Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /f??l??/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish fillid (“turns back”), from Proto-Celtic *wel-n-, from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“turn”); compare German walzen (“roll”), Latin volv? (“turn”)

Verb

fill (present analytic filleann, future analytic fillfidh, verbal noun filleadh, past participle fillte)

1. turn back
2. return
3. fold
4. (biology, geology, medicine) plicate
5. (medicine, of symptoms) recur

Conjugation

Derived terms

• athfhill (“recur; (of decimals) circulate; refold; reflect”)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Noun

fill

1. genitive singular of feall

Mutation

References

• "fill" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “fillid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish fillid (“turns back”), from Proto-Celtic *wel-n-, from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“turn”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fi??/

Verb

fill (past dh'fhill, future fillidh, verbal noun filleadh, past participle fillte)

1. fold; plait; twill
2. imply
3. contain, include

Derived terms

• eadar-fhill (“intervolve”)

Mutation

References

• “fill” in Edward Dwelly, Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic–English Dictionary, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, 1911, ?ISBN.
• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “fillid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language