wain en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /weɪn/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Middle English wayn, from Old English wæġn, from Proto-West Germanic *wagn, from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *woǵʰnos, from *weǵʰ- (“to bring, transport”). Doublet of wagon, borrowed from Middle Dutch. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian wein, Dutch wagen, German Wagen, Danish vogn, Norwegian vogn, Swedish vagn.
Meanings
-
(archaic, literary) A wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen.
Many roads and tracks crossed the green fields, and there was much coming and going: wains moving in lines towards the Great Gate, and others passing out.
1955 October 20, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “Minas Tirith”, in The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings […], New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published December 1978, →ISBN, book V, page 40:"The Hay Wain" is a famous painting by John Constable.
-
(archaic) A chariot or similar stately carriage.
And the hill-king spake to his footpages twain. Time with me goes slow. — "Put ye the gray pacers now unto the wain," But that grief is heavy I know.
1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 175:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wains | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| wayn | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Deriveds
wainrope · wainbote · hay wain · wainage · wainwright · wainful · bridewain · Charles' Wain · horse-wain · Conestoga wain · cartwain · wainman
Translations (14)
bg кола (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · cs vozík (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · fi kärry (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · it carro (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · sv vagn (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · it carretto (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · fi rattaat (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · cy wagen (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · ru теле́га (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · cy men (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · ga vaigín (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · ga féan (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · cs vůz (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen) · ru пово́зка (a wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen)