wain

[weyn]

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noun

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. Charles's Wain.

a farm wagon or cart.

Origin of wain

before 900; Middle English; Old English wægn, wǣn, cognate with Dutch wagen, German Wagen. See weigh¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wain

Contemporary Examples of wain

Wain, who reunites with co-writer Michael Showalter, penned the first script for They Came Together in 2001.
Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler’s Ultimate Rom Com Spoof ‘They Came Together’
Sujay Kumar
January 29, 2014

Historical Examples of wain

Then he hoisted the tree on to the wain, roped it into place, and told the cartman to drive on.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
Then, all at once, a wain had stood at the gate: the servants hastened to open it.
Debts of Honor
Maurus Jkai
Lorand pointed speechlessly to the wain, and could not tell them.
Debts of Honor
Maurus Jkai
And after the wain, on foot, the two brothers, hand in hand.
Debts of Honor
Maurus Jkai
With the Wenman, who drove the wain, we may mention the Leader or Loader.
The Romance of Names
Ernest Weekley

British Dictionary definitions for wain

wain

noun

mainly poetic a farm wagon or cart

Word Origin for wain

Old English wægn; related to Old Frisian wein, Old Norse vagn

Wain

noun

John (Barrington). 1925–94, British novelist, poet, and critic. His novels include Hurry on Down (1953), Strike the Father Dead (1962), and Young Shoulders (1982)

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

Word Origin and History for wain

Old English wægn "wheeled vehicle," from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz (see wagon). Largely fallen from use by c.1600, but kept alive by poets, who found it easier to rhyme on than wagon. As a name for the Big Dipper/Plough, it is from Old English (see Charles's Wain).