wain

[ weyn ]

/ weɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

a farm wagon or cart.

Nearby words

wail, wail like a banshee, wailful, wailsome, wailuku, wain, wainscot, wainscot chair, wainscoting, wainwright, waipahu

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

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|DAILY BEAST
“He might be still in the house,” said Mr. Wain, ruminatively.
Mike|P. G. Wodehouse
He went blissfully, as if on wings, and said: "Life travels to-day in the constellation of the wain, far away through the blue."
Titan: A Romance v. 1 (of 2)|Jean Paul Friedrich Richter
Why he was so called was because he used to go over his opponent even as a wain would go over withered sticks.
The Harvard Classics, Volume 49, Epic and Saga|Various

He found stones for the hind wheels of the wain, unyoked the oxen and led them into the lew, out of the fury of the weather.
Frey and His Wife|Maurice Henry Hewlett
What did she care for the progress of the hours, since the constellation of Charles's Wain showed her that it was past midnight?
Arachne, Complete|Georg Ebers

British Dictionary definitions for wain (1 of 2)

wain

/ (weɪn) /

noun

mainly poetic a farm wagon or cart

Word Origin for wain

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

British Dictionary definitions for wain (2 of 2)

Wain

/ (weɪn) /

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