English Online Dictionary. What means main? What does main mean?
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: mān, IPA(key): /meɪn/
- Rhymes: -eɪn
- Homophones: mane, Maine
Etymology 1
From Middle English mayn, main, maine, mæin, meyn, from main (noun) (see further at etymology 2); compare Old English mæġen (“strong, main, principal”) (used in combination) and Old Norse megn, megenn (“strong, main”).
The word is cognate with Old High German megīn (“strong, mighty”) (modern German Möge, Vermögen (“power, wealth”)), and also akin to Old English magan (“to be able to”). See also may.
Adjective
main (not comparable)
- Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal. [from 15th c.]
- Chief, most important, or principal in extent, size, or strength; consisting of the largest part.
- Synonym: largest
- (archaic, of force, strength, etc.) Full, sheer, undivided. [from 16th c.]
- (dialectal) Big; angry.
- (nautical) Belonging to or connected with the principal mast in a vessel.
- (obsolete) Great in size or degree; important, powerful, strong, vast.
Derived terms
Translations
Adverb
main (comparative more main, superlative most main)
- (British, dialectal) Exceedingly, extremely, greatly, mightily, very, very much.
Verb
main (third-person singular simple present mains, present participle maining, simple past and past participle mained)
- (transitive, slang) Short for mainline (“to inject (a drug) directly into a vein”).
- (transitive, gaming) To mainly play a specific character or side, or with specific equipment, during a game.
- (obsolete) To convert (a road) into a main or primary road.
Etymology 2
From Middle English mayn, main, maine, mæine, mæȝen, from Old English mæġen (“strength”), from Proto-Germanic *maginą (“strength, power, might”), *maginaz (“strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (“be able”).
The word is cognate with Old High German magen, megin, Old Norse magn, megn, megin, Old Saxon megin. More recent senses are derived from the adjective.
Noun
main (plural mains)
- (not in generic modern use) That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.
- (video games) The primary character that one plays in a video game in which one can play more than one character.
- Antonym: alt
- (Internet slang) A main account.
- Antonym: alt
- A large cable or pipe providing utility service to an area or a building, such as a water main or electric main. [from 17th c.]
- (informal) Short for main course (“the principal dish of a meal”).
- (now poetic) The high seas. [from 16th c.]
- (now archaic, US dialectal) The mainland. [from 16th c.]
- (nautical) Short for mainsail. [from 17th c.]
- (obsolete, except in might and main) Force, power, strength, violent effort. [from 9th c.]
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 3
Uncertain; probably from the adjective main. Evidence is lacking for a derivation from French main (“hand”).
Noun
main (plural mains)
- (obsolete, gaming) A hand or match in a game of dice.
- 1876, Charles Dickens, All the Year Round
- That no minute might be wasted, the gay gallants of the time generally had a dice-box and a cast of dice in their pockets. This was convenient in the extreme, as, in the intervals of racing, a main could be thrown […]
- (obsolete, gaming) The largest throw in a match at dice; in the game of hazard, a number from one to nine called out by a person before the dice are thrown.
- (obsolete, gaming) A stake played for at dice.
- (obsolete, gaming, sports) A sporting contest or match, especially a cockfighting match.
- A banker's shovel for coins.
Etymology 4
Uncertain, possibly from French main (“hand”).
Noun
main (plural mains)
- (obsolete, rare) A basket for gathering grapes.
References
Further reading
- main (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Main (power) in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
See also
Anagrams
- Iman, amin, NIMA, NAMI, iman, mani, mnai, Mina, mina, Naim, Mani, Mian, Amin
Chinese
Etymology
Clipping of English maintain.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mei̯n⁵⁵/
Verb
main
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) to maintain
Cimbrian
Alternative forms
- moi (Luserna)
Etymology
From Middle High German mīn, form Old High German mīn, from Proto-West Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīnaz (“my, mine”). Cognate with German mein, English mine.
Determiner
main (plural main, bon/dar maindarn) (Sette Comuni)
- (attributive) my
- De main muutar ist noch jung. ― My mother is still young.
- An zun bon maindarn ghéet noch suul. ― My son still goes to school. (literally, “A son of mine still goes to school.”)
- Maina muutar! ― My mother!
- (predicative) mine
- De khua ist main. ― The cow is mine.
Usage notes
The following rules apply to all Sette Comuni Cimbrian possessive determiners:
- They are inflected by number and gender in only exclamations (i.e. vocative case).
- Before nouns, they are inflected for number only and follow the corresponding definite article (a form of dar).
- The plural ending is -en, or -∅ when the pronoun itself ends in -n.
- Predicatively, they are uninflected and the definite article is not used.
- Following bon (“of”) or dar (the only surviving trace of a genitive definite article; used for all numbers and genders) they end in -darn.
Inflection
See also
References
- “main” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Dalmatian
Etymology
From Latin mēne, from mē. Compare Romanian mine.
Pronoun
main
- (first-person singular pronoun, oblique case) me
Related terms
- me
- ju
Finnish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɑi̯n/, [ˈmɑ̝i̯n]
- Rhymes: -ɑin
- Hyphenation(key): main
Noun
main
- instructive plural of maa
Postposition
main [with adessive]
- in ... region, in the vicinity of, around ...
- näillä main ― in this region, around here
- noilla main (see usage notes of tuo) ― in that region, around there
- niillä main (see usage notes of tuo) ― in that region, around there
Usage notes
In modern Finnish, the postposition is always preceded by a demonstrative pronoun in the plural: either näillä main, noilla main or niillä main (as above).
Further reading
- “main”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-12-01
Anagrams
- mani, mina, nami
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French main, Old French main, mein, man, from Latin manus (“hand”), from Proto-Italic *manus, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-r̥ ~ *mh₂-én-, derived from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon”), or perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European *mon-u- (see the Proto-Italic entry). Compare Spanish mano.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɛ̃/
- Homophones: mains, maint, maints
- Hyphenation: main
Noun
main f (plural mains)
- hand
- (soccer) handball
- (poker) hand
- quire
Synonyms
- louche
- mimine
- paluche
- pince
Meronyms
- doigt
- dos
- paume
- poignet
- pouce
Holonyms
- bras
Derived terms
Related terms
- manche
- manicle
- manier
- manipuler
- manivelle
- manuel
Descendants
- →? English: main
- →⇒ German: Lamäng
- Haitian Creole: men
- Louisiana Creole: men
- ⇒ Mauritian Creole: lame
Further reading
- “main”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- mina
Indonesian
Etymology
From Malay main, from Proto-Malayic *maim, a reduction from Pre-Proto-Malayic *q-um-ayam, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qayam (“domesticated animal, toy”). In the sense of dummy word, influenced by Kupang Malay maen. Doublet of ayam (“chicken”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /main/
- Hyphenation: main
Verb
main (bermain)
- to play
- (colloquial) dummy word before verbs
Derived terms
References
Further reading
- “main” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Javanese
Verb
main
- to gamble
Kaiep
Noun
main
- woman
Further reading
- Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)
- Stephen Adolphe Wurm, New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study (1976)
Malay
Etymology
A phonemical reduction from Pre-Proto-Malayic *q-um-ayam, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qayam. The Buku Katan alternatively proposes it as a product of suffixing maya + -an.
Pronunciation
- (Johor-Selangor) IPA(key): /maen/
- (Riau-Lingga) IPA(key): /maɪn/
- Rhymes: -aen, -en
- Rhymes: -in
Verb
main (Jawi spelling ماءين, used in the form bermain)
- to play
Derived terms
Descendants
- Indonesian: main
- → Tok Pisin: main
References
Further reading
- “main” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
Middle English
Noun
main
- Alternative form of mayn
Adjective
main
- Alternative form of mayn
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French main, mein, man, from Latin manus.
Noun
main f (plural mains)
- (anatomy) hand
Descendants
- French: main
- →? English: main
- →⇒ German: Lamäng
- Haitian Creole: men
- Louisiana Creole: men
- ⇒ Mauritian Creole: lame
Norman
Alternative forms
- man (continental Normandy)
- môin (Guernsey)
Etymology
From Old French main, mein, man, from Latin manus (“hand”).
Pronunciation
Noun
main f (plural mains)
- (Jersey, anatomy) hand
Derived terms
- brînge à main f (“brush”)
- marté à deux mains m (“sledgehammer”)
Related terms
- dé (“finger”)
Northern Sami
Pronoun
main
- locative plural of mii
Old French
Alternative forms
- mein, man
Etymology
From Latin manus.
Noun
main oblique singular, f (oblique plural mainz, nominative singular main, nominative plural mainz)
- (anatomy) hand
Descendants
- Bourguignon: moin
- Middle French: main
- French: main
- →? English: main
- →⇒ German: Lamäng
- Haitian Creole: men
- Louisiana Creole: men
- ⇒ Mauritian Creole: lame
- French: main
- Gallo: maen
- Norman: main
- Walloon: mwin
Old Irish
Noun
main
- Alternative spelling of mainn
Mutation
Tok Pisin
Etymology
From Malay main.
Verb
main
- to play
- Synonym: pilai
Welsh
Etymology
Perhaps ultimately from the root of mwyn (“mild, tender”). Cognate with Breton moan, Cornish moon.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mai̯n/
- Rhymes: -ai̯n
- Homophone: maen (South Wales)
Adjective
main (feminine singular main, plural meinion, equative meined, comparative meinach, superlative meinaf)
- slender, thin
- Synonym: tenau
- fine
- Synonym: mân
Derived terms
- addfain (“slender”)
- blaenfain, penfain, pigfain (“tapered, pointed”)
- clustlys main (“western earwort”)
- meinddail (“narrow-leaved”)
- meinhau, meinio (“to make thin”)
- rhwyddlwyn main (“slender speedwell”)