Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “gains” come from?

gains (French) comes from French gain, from Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from Old French gaaignier, from Vulgar Latin *wadaniāre, from English unspecified, from English Un-, from Middle English un- — not.

gains (French): plural of gain

Definitions

  1. plural of gain

Ancestry of “gains”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchgainwinnings, earnings, takings; gain, yield
2Middle Frenchgainincome
3Old Frenchgaainggain
4Old FrenchgaaignierAlternative form of gaigner; to earn, gain,...
5Vulgar Latin*wadaniāre—
6EnglishunspecifiedNot specified; not thoroughly explained or...
7EnglishUn-—
8Middle Englishun-—
9Old Englishun-negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms...
10Proto-West Germanicun-not, un-
11Proto-Germanicun-not, un-
12Proto-Indo-Europeann̥-not, un-
13Proto-Indo-Europeannenot
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →