fain

[ feyn ]

adverb

1. gladly; willingly:

   He fain would accept.

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

/ feɪn /

adverb

1. archaic.
   usually with would willingly; gladly

   she would fain be dead

adjective

1. obsolete.
   1. willing or eager
   2. compelled

Word History and Origins

Origin of fain¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of fain¹

Old English fægen; related to Old Norse fegiun happy, Old High German gifehan to be glad, Gothic fahehs joy; see fawn ²

Example Sentences

Video cameraman Scott Fain, 54, likes what he hears at the event.

From The Daily Beast

Richard would fain have moralised and comforted, but she felt as if she knew it all before, and heard with languid attention.

From Project Gutenberg

I am a poor fellow, sir; that shall be a longtime getting rich, and would fain not die till I am so.

From Project Gutenberg

I longed to hear her and to see her always; I would have died in rapture at her side, but I was never fain to wed her.

From Project Gutenberg

The incident recalled was one that he would fain have forgotten, one the truth of which he intended at all hazards to conceal.

From Project Gutenberg

There is an obvious allusion in this line to the common proverb—'As fain as fowl of a fair morrow,' which is quoted in the Kn.

From Project Gutenberg