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• cain
  cain

  noun

  rent paid in kind, especially a percentage of a farm crop.
• Cain
  Cain

  noun

  (in the Bible) the first son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel.

cain

¹ American  

[keyn] / keɪn /

Scot., kane

noun

Scot. and Irish English.

1. rent paid in kind, especially a percentage of a farm crop.

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Cain ² American  

[keyn] / keɪn /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the first son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel.

2. a murderer.

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idioms

1. raise Cain,

   1. become angry or violent.

      He'll raise Cain when he finds out I lost his watch.

   2. to behave in a boisterous manner; cause a disturbance.

      The students raised Cain while the teacher was out.

Cain ³ American  

[keyn] / keɪn /

noun

1. James M., 1892–1977, U.S. novelist.

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Cain ¹ British  

/ keɪn /

noun

1. the first son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:1–16)

2. 1. to cause a commotion

   2. to react or protest heatedly

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cain ² British  

/ keɪn /

noun

1. history (in Scotland and Ireland) payment in kind, usually farm produce paid as rent

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Cain More Idioms  

1. see raise Cain.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Cainitic
  adjective
• Cainism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of cain

Middle English ( Scots ) cane, from Scots Gaelic; compare Old Irish cáin “statute, law, rent”

Example Sentences

Yo' see I ham 't been used t' hit down whar I lived an' I cain 't feel comfortable with a lot of machinery so close to me.

From The Boy Scout Fire Fighters by Crump, Irving

You ought to see him raising cain over his mask being lost.

From Jimmy Kirkland and the Plot for a Pennant by Fullerton, Hugh S.

The modern woman has learned it is a club that raises cain.

From Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z by Various

An I goes down to de Court House, and when I see dem cannons in deyard I cain keep from cryin'.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Tennessee Narratives by Work Projects Administration

If she were here, and I went on raising cain like I been doing, she'd have a fit.

From Babbitt by Lewis, Sinclair