English

gain-

Gain- comes from Proto-Germanic *gagin ‘towards, against’.

Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gagin‘towards, against’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
Englishtodaygain-

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gagin‘towards, against’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
Englishtodaygain-

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to walk, step’

jay, camino, doppelganger, ging, 11 more

through Proto-Germanic *ganganą ‘to go, walk, step’

gang, gong, gan, 7 more

Today it means

prefix Prefix meaning "against", "contrary to", "in opposition to", "counter-".

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *gagin / gain-

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