fain

American  

[feyn] / feɪn /

adverb

1. gladly; willingly.

   He fain would accept.

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adjective

1. willing.

   They were fain to go.

2. Archaic. constrained; obliged.

   He was fain to obey his Lord.

3. Archaic. glad; pleased.

4. Archaic. desirous; eager.

fain British  

/ feɪn /

adverb

1. archaic (usually with would) willingly; gladly

   she would fain be dead

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adjective

1. obsolete

   1. willing or eager

   2. compelled

Etymology

Origin of fain

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English fæg(e)n; cognate with Old Norse feginn “happy”; akin to fair ¹

Explanation

The old-fashioned adverb fain describes the manner of gladly or willingly doing something. You would fain have stayed home, but you had to venture out in the rain. Fain comes from the Old English fægen, meaning "happy, glad, or well pleased." When you're fain to do something, you are happy to do it, like when you're exhausted and would fain take a nap. Sometimes fain is also used as an adjective to describe someone obligated or willing to do something: "He was fain to hand over half the lemonade stand money to his little brother."

Example Sentences

In vain the kindly call: in vain The plate for which thou once wast fain At morn and noon and daylight’s wane, O King of mousers.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2023

“Ah, good my lords, what a nose is his! When one sees it, one is fain to cry aloud, ‘Nay! ’tis too much!’”

From New York Times • Apr. 14, 2022

‘I will,’ said he, ‘finish my business in Sogn and Hordaland, for I would fain in the summer take my ship out to Iceland.’

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2019

Such archaisms as "dight," "say him nay," "fain," such clicheés as "balmy breezes," "surly portals" are all shoddy stuff.

From Time Magazine Archive

I would fain exercise some better faculty than that of fierce speaking; fain find nourishment for some less fiendish feeling than that of sombre indignation.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë