ungain

English

Etymology

From Middle English ungain, ungayn, ungein, equivalent to un- +‎ gain (“suitable; convenient”). See ungainly.

Adjective

ungain (comparative more ungain, superlative most ungain)

1. (obsolete or UK, dialect) ungainly; clumsy; awkward
   • c. 1607–1611, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Cupid’s Revenge”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     she take th ' ungain'st weas she can

2. (obsolete or UK, dialect) troublesome; inconvenient

Derived terms

• ungainly (adverb)

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “ungain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Anagrams

• Guinan, Gunian, guanin