Gain, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Gained (gānd); p. pr. & vb.
n. Gaining.] [From gain, n.
but. prob. influenced by F. gagner to earn, gain, OF.
gaaignier to cultivate, OHG. weidinōn,
weidinen to pasture, hunt, fr. weida pasturage, G.
weide, akin to Icel. veiðr hunting, AS.
wāðu, cf. L. venari to hunt, E.
venison. See Gain, n., profit.]
1. To get, as profit or advantage; 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.
To gain dominion, or to keep it
gained.
Milton.
For fame with toil we gain, but lose with
ease.
Pope.
2. To come off winner or victor in; to be
successful in; to obtain by competition; as, to gain a battle;
to gain a case at law; to gain a prize.
3. 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. 15.
To gratify the queen, and gained 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.
5. To get, incur, or receive, as loss, harm,
or damage. [Obs. or Ironical]
Ye should . . . not have loosed from Crete, and to
have gained this harm and loss.
Acts xxvii.
21.
Gained day, the calendar day gained in
sailing eastward around the earth. -- To gain
ground, to make progress; to advance in any
undertaking; to prevail; to acquire strength or extent. --
To gain over, to draw to one's 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;
attain; 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 in a struggle with others.
Gain (gān), n. [OE. gain,
gein, gaȝhen, gain, advantage, Icel. gagn;
akin to Sw. gagn, Dan. gavn, cf. Goth. gageigan
to gain. The word was prob. influenced by F. gain gain, OF.
gaain. Cf. Gain, v. t.]
1. That which is gained, obtained, or acquired,
as increase, profit, advantage, or benefit; -- opposed to
loss.
But what things were gain to me, those I
counted loss for Christ.
Phil. iii. 7.
Godliness with contentment is great
gain.
1 Tim. vi. 6.
Every one shall share in the
gains.
Shak.
2. The obtaining or amassing of profit or
valuable possessions; acquisition; accumulation. "The lust of
gain." Tennyson.
Gain, a. [OE. gein, gain,
good, near, quick; cf. Icel. gegn ready, serviceable, and
gegn, adv., against, opposite. Cf. Ahain.]
Convenient; suitable; direct; near; handy; dexterous; easy;
profitable; cheap; respectable. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Gain (gān), n. [Cf. W. gan
a mortise.] (Arch.) A square or beveled 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.
Gain (?), v. i. To have or receive
advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in
interest, health, or happiness; to make progress; as, the sick man
gains daily.
Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by
extortion.
Ezek. xxii. 12.
Gaining twist, in rifled firearms, a twist
of the grooves, which increases regularly from the breech to the
muzzle. To gain on or upon.
(a) To encroach on; as, the ocean gains on
the land. (b) To obtain influence with.
(c) To win ground upon; to move faster than, as
in a race or contest. (d) 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.