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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

• Cainism
  noun
• Cainitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cain

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cain Cain

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

"I were goin' to warn 'em an' holp 'em ef I cain."

From A Man for the Ages A Story of the Builders of Democracy by John Wolcott Adams

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From The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick Including the Life by Jocelin, Hitherto Unpublished in America, and His Extant Writings by James O'Leary

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 James O'Leary

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

In 2022, Joshua Cain and his partner, André Reyes, stepped into the foyer of the home on Monrovia’s South Ivy Avenue and gaped in wonder.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

It would’ve been easier to create fresh builds or buy new decor and furnishings, Cain admits, but then it wouldn’t feel like the right setting to him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

But Cain, an interior decorator for 25 years, wasn’t daunted by the chaos that came with such an extensive project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Now that Cain and Reyes have built it, they wonder who will come.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Cain just had to jump and swing—amateur scaling.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas