main
/meɪn/ adjective, adverb, verb, noun, proper noun
Forms mains maining mained
- adjective Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal. “The main office is actually one of the smaller rooms.”
- adjective Chief, most important, or principal in extent, size, or strength; consisting of the largest part. “main timbers”
- adjective (archaic, of force, strength, etc.) Full, sheer, undivided.
- adjective (dialectal) Big; angry.
- adjective (nautical) Belonging to or connected with the principal mast in a vessel.
- adjective (obsolete) Great in size or degree; important, powerful, strong, vast.
- adverb (UK, dialectal) Exceedingly, extremely, greatly, mightily, very, very much.
- verb (transitive, gaming) To mainly play a specific character or side, or with specific equipment, during a game. “He mains the same character as me in that game.”
- verb (obsolete) To convert (a road) into a main or primary road.
- noun (not in generic modern use) That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.
- noun (video games) The primary character that one plays in a video game in which one can play more than one character. “My WoW main has reached level cap and I’m on my way getting my first alt there as well.”
- noun (Internet slang) A main account. “His main got banned after his last post.”
- noun A large cable or pipe providing utility service to an area or a building, such as a water main or electric main. “There's a gas leak in the main outside the building.”
- noun (now poetic) The high seas.
- noun (now archaic, US dialectal) The mainland.
- noun (obsolete, except in might and main) Force, power, strength, violent effort.
- noun (obsolete, gaming) A hand or match in a game of dice.
- noun (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.
- noun (obsolete, gaming) A stake played for at dice.
- noun (obsolete, gaming, sports) A sporting contest or match, especially a cockfighting match.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
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.
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.
Uncertain; probably from the adjective main. Evidence is lacking for a derivation from French main (“hand”).
Uncertain, possibly from French main (“hand”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A hand or match at dice. Prior. Thackeray.
- noun A stake played for at dice. [Obs.] Shak.
- noun Strength; force; might; violent effort. [Obs., except in certain phrases.]
- noun The chief or principal part; the main or most important thing.
Etymology [F. main hand, L. manus. See Manual.]
Etymology [AS. mægen strength, power, force; akin to OHG. magan, Icel. megin, and to E. may, v. May, v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “main”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details