| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| fain |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  f n |
| ADVERB: | 1. Happily; gladly: “I would fain improve every opportunity to wonder and worship, as a sunflower welcomes the light” (Henry David Thoreau). 2. Archaic Preferably; rather. | | ADJECTIVE: | Archaic 1. Ready; willing. 2. Pleased; happy. 3. Obliged or required. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old English fægen, joyful, glad.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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