hain

H4A1I1N1

verb

To hedge or fence in; enclose; protect by hedging.

OriginMiddle English *haynen ← Old Norse hegna ← Proto-Germanic *haginjaną →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

verbhain (third-person singular simple present hains, present participle haining, simple past and past participle hained)

present singular third person hains · participle present haining · participle past hained · past hained · alternative hane

  1. Northern EnglandScotlanddialectaltransitiveTo hedge or fence in; enclose; protect by hedging.
  2. Northern EnglandScotlanddialectaltransitiveTo save; spare; refrain from using or spending.
  3. Northern EnglandScotlanddialectalintransitiveTo be thrifty; be economical.
nounhain (plural hains)

plural hains · alternative hane

  1. Northern EnglandScotlanddialectalobsoleteAn enclosure; a park

Origin

  1. Middle Englishheyn
  2. Proto-Germanic*haginjaną“to hedge”
  3. Old Norsehegna“to protect; defend”
  4. Middle English*haynen
  5. Englishhain

From earlier hayne, from Middle English *haynen, *heynen, from Old Norse hegna (“to protect; defend”), from Proto-Germanic *haginjaną (“to hedge”), equivalent to hedge + -en. Cognate with Icelandic hegna (“to fence; confine; punish”), Swedish hägna (“to fence off; enclose; protect”), Danish hegne (“to enclose; fence in”). Related to hedge. The noun is from Middle English heyn.

More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

HaniNahiIhan
Cite this entry
APA

hain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hain

MLA

“hain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hain. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hain,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hain.

Source: hain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.