deign
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deign
- /deɪn/ US, UK
Sounds like Dane (pane–pain merger) · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English deinen, deynen (“to consider (something) suitable to one’s dignity or worth, condescend; to appear worthy; to condescend to grant (something), permit, vouchsafe; to regard (someone) as worthy; to consecrate, dedicate (something)”), from Old French daigner, degnier, deigner, deignier (“to condescend, deign”) (modern French daigner), from Latin dignāre, the present active infinitive of dignō (“to deem fitting, suitable, or worthy; to condescend, deign”), from dignus (“fitting, suitable, worthy; worthy of”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to perceive; to take”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs).
cognates
* Italian degnare
* Occitan deinar, denhar
verb deigns · deigning · deigned · deign
- To consider it appropriate or worthy to do or give (something), often when it is seen as beneath one's dignity; to condescend, to vouchsafe. Nor vvould vve deigne him buriall of his men, / Till he diſburſed, at Saint Colmes ynch, / Ten thouſand Dollars, to our generall vſe.
-
To consider it appropriate or worthy to accept or take (something).
Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reprove / And of my rurall muſick holdeth ſcorne.
Opposite: disdain
- Often followed by of: to consider (someone) as worthy of something; to dignify. VVill you not daigne his Majeſty vvith an Anſvver?
- To consider it appropriate or worthy to do something, often when it is seen as beneath one's dignity; to condescend, to think fit, to vouchsafe. He didn’t even deign to give us a nod of the head; he thought us that far beneath him.
Translations
Every language
verb (transitive) to consider it appropriate or worthy to do (something), often when it is seen as beneath one’s dignity; (intransitive) to consider it appropriate o
| Español | dignarse |
|---|---|
| Português | dignar-se a |
| Français | daigner, condescendre |
| Italiano | degnare |
| Ελληνικά | καταδέχομαι katadéchomai |
| Русский | снизойти́ snizojtí, соблаговоли́ть soblagovolítʹ, соизво́лить soizvólitʹ, удосто́ить udostóitʹ |
Talk about this word "deign." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/deign. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. deign. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/deign "deign." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/deign.Cite this
@misc{deign_2026,
title = {deign},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/deign},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
