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amain

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amain¹

  • /əˈmeɪn/ US, UK

Rhymes with -eɪn

Where it comes from

From a- (prefix with the sense ‘at; in; on; with’, used to show a state, condition, or manner) + main (“force, power, strength”). Main is derived from Middle English mayn (“strength”), from Old English mæġen (“strength”), from Proto-Germanic *maginą (“might, power, strength”), *maginaz (“strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (“to be able”).

adverb more amain · most amain · amaine

  1. archaic, literary With all of one's might; mightily; forcefully, violently. And in beholding how he [the cyclops Polyphemus] fed and belked vp againe / His bloody vittels at his mouth, and vttred out amayne / The clottred gobbets mixt with wyne, I [Odysseus] thus ſurmyſde: like lot / Hangs ouer my head now, and I muſt alſo go to pot.
  2. archaic At full speed; also, in great haste. At length the Danes beeing aſſayled on eche ſide, both a front before, and on their backes behinde, oppreſſed as it were wyth multitude, they threwe downe theyr weapons and fled amain.
  3. UK, dialectal Out of control. The waggonway lay near the Windmill Hills and went down the north side of the hills to the Rivir Tine, and at the Coal steath [= staithe] Mathew Gray lived. I was about hauf way down the bank when thur was two Waggons Coming after me Amain [= broken loose and running away].
  4. obsolete Exceedingly; overmuch. Riches are mine, Fortune is in my hand; / They whom I favour thrive in wealth amain, / While Virtue, Valour, Wiſdom ſit in want.

amain²

  • /əˈmeɪn/ US, UK

Rhymes with -eɪn

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Spanish amainar (“to reef a sail (take in part of a sail to adapt its size to the force of the wind); to abate, die down, subside; to ease off, let up; of a person: to calm down, control one’s anger”); further etymology uncertain, probably from a regional Italian (Naples) word (compare Italian ammainare (“to lower or reef (a flag, sail, etc.)”)), from Vulgar Latin *invagīnare (“to sheathe (a sword); to put away, stow”), from Latin in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + vāgīna (“scabbard, sheath; covering, holder; vagina”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂ǵ- (“to cover; sheath”)); this would make it a doublet of invaginate.

verb amains · amaining · amained

  1. obsolete, transitive To lower (the sail of a ship, particularly the topsail).
  2. figuratively, obsolete, transitive To decrease or reduce (something).
  3. intransitive, obsolete To lower the topsail in token of surrender; to yield.

Translations

Every language

adv with all of one’s might — see also mightily, forcefully

Españolcon todas sus fuerzas
Русскийси́льно sílʹno, и́зо всех сил ízo vsex sil

adv at full speed

Española toda velocidad
Русскийбы́стро býstro, сломя голову slomja golovu, на полной скорости na polnoj skorosti

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MLA

"amain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/amain. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

amain. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/amain

Chicago

"amain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/amain.

BibTeX
@misc{amain_2026,
  title = {amain},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/amain},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}