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

• Cainism noun
• Cainitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of cain

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

Example Sentences

Saergus the Young, also-- *     *     *     *     * Violated the cain he had adopted, For the vehement Dungalach.

From The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick Including the Life by Jocelin, Hitherto Unpublished in America, and His Extant Writings by O'Leary, James

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

From Babbitt by Lewis, Sinclair

Dungalach, son of Faelghus, Grandson of just Nadfraech, Was the first who transgressed Patrick's cain from the beginning.

From The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick Including the Life by Jocelin, Hitherto Unpublished in America, and His Extant Writings by O'Leary, James

Uncle Marion sho cain give yo a helpin good luck hand.

From Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Arkansas Narratives, Part 4 by Work Projects Administration

Cain, Kain, kān, n. in old Scots law, rent paid in kind, esp. in poultry, &c.—To pay the cain, to pay the penalty.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various