English

gainstrife

From gain- + strife.

Proto-Germanic *gagin ‘towards, against’

Proto-West Germanic *gagin

English gain-

Frankish *strīban

Old French estriver ‘to compete’

Old French estrif ‘quarrel’

Middle English strif ‘conflict’

Today it means

noun Contention; striving against.

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

Etymograph / gainstrife