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cain

[ keyn ]
/ keɪn /
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noun Scot. and Irish English.
rent paid in kind, especially a percentage of a farm crop.
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Also Scot., kane .

Origin of cain

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

Other definitions for cain (2 of 3)

Cain1
[ keyn ]
/ keɪn /

noun
the first son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel. Genesis 4.
a murderer.

OTHER WORDS FROM Cain

Cainism, nounCain·it·ic [key-nit-ik], /keɪˈnɪt ɪk/, adjective

Other definitions for cain (3 of 3)

Cain2
[ keyn ]
/ keɪn /

noun
James M., 1892–1977, U.S. novelist.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cain in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cain (1 of 2)

cain

kain

/ (keɪn) /

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

Word Origin for cain

C12: from Scottish Gaelic cāin rent, perhaps ultimately from Late Latin canōn tribute (see canon); compare Middle Irish cāin law

British Dictionary definitions for cain (2 of 2)

Cain
/ (keɪn) /

noun
the first son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:1–16)
raise Cain
  1. to cause a commotion
  2. to react or protest heatedly
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with cain

Cain

see raise Cain.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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