A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1475-1512, 1602
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Gain, Gayn, a. Only in superl. gaynest, gainest, ganest. [ME. gayn(e, geyn (a 1310), ON. gegn.] a. Of a way: Most direct, nearest, shortest. b. Of a person: Most fit or suitable. —a. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace iv. 771.
To the south ȝett the gaynest [v.r. ganest] way he drew c1475 Ib. vi. 178. a1500 Prestis of Peblis.
Ȝe are the gaynest [v.r. gainest] gait and gyde to god 1602 Colville Parænese Cont. 5.
Vhat is the ganest vay to disput vyth the nouators of this ageb. c1500-c1512 Dunb. Tua Mar. W. 79.
Quhen I gottin had ane grome, ganest of vther
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"Gain adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/gain_adj>
