sain
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
From Middle English sainen, seinen, senen, sinen, signen, from Old English sēnian, seġnian, from Proto-Germanic *segnōną (“to mark with a cross, bless”), from Latin signō, from signum.[1][2] Cognate with Dutch zegenen (“to bless”), German segnen (“to bless”), Irish séan (“sign, omen”) and Scottish Gaelic seun (“a charm”).
Pronunciation
Verb
sain (third-person singular simple present sains, present participle saining, simple past and past participle sained)
- (transitive, archaic) To make the sign of the cross on or over something or someone.
- 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 261:
- Saining is the grand protection against them; a Shetlander always sains himself when passing by their hills.
- (intransitive, obsolete except in Scots) To make the sign of the cross.
- (transitive, archaic) To bless, to keep from evil influence.
- Sain usǃ Sain us, oh Godǃ.
- 1889, “Agamemnon”, in Edmund Doidge Anderson Morshead, transl., The House of Atreus, 2nd edition, page 57:
- Far from my speech stands he who sains and saves.
- 1983, Robert Nye, The Facts of Life:
- The child was sained then. Fir candles were lighted and whirled round the bed in which mother and infant lay.
Translations
to make the sign of the cross
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References
- “sain”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “sain”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Anagrams
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