Etymograph

English

regain

Regain comes from Middle French regaigner.

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600regaigner
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1912regain

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600regaigner
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1912regain

Earliest quotation: 1912, National Association of Cotton Manufactu: “The number of ends per inch may vary to…”

Equivalent to re- + gain

Proto-Italic *wre- ‘again’

English re-

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘next to’

…

Proto-Germanic *gagana ‘back’

Proto-Germanic *gagną

Old Norse gagn ‘benefit’

Middle English gayn ‘profit’

English gain

Every English word from Middle French regaigner

Today it means

verb To get back; to recover possession of.

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

Etymograph / Middle French regaigner / regain

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