A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Fain(e, Fayn(e, Fane, adv. [ME. fayn(e, early fein, f. Fain(e,a.] Gladly, willingly, with desire or longing.(a) 1375 Barb. i. 11.
I wald fayne set my will … To put in wryt a suthfast story Ib. viii. 20.
Tharoff fayne wengyt wald he be a1400 Leg. S. xviii. 267.
Sene thu fayne vald vith me spek c1420 Wynt. viii. 4794.
Hys folk wald fayne have bene away 1456 Hay I. 61/36.
He … fayn wald have done him plesaunce a1500 Gol. & Gaw. 260.
Quham of is he haldand. Fayne wald I wit a1500 Doug. K. Hart 456.
That wald I fayne war doun and it micht be c1500-c1512 Dunb. lxxxiii. 2.
Sum lord … Fra quhom faine kyndnes I wald clame 1567 Sat. P. vii. 94.
Sum douts thair is, of quhilk rycht faine … I wald resoluit be a1578 Pitsc. I. 343/7.
The king of Scotland wald fayne haue keipit his promeis(b) a1400 Leg. S. iii. 515.
Of the land gadderit mony mane, That Androw wald haf losit fane 1456 Hay II. 93/8.
Dispisand men that fane wald copy his maneris c1500-c1512 Dunb. Tua Mar. W. 341.
Than wald I … sa fane haif bene wrokin 1570 Sat. P. xx. 61.
At thame rycht fane, or els be slane a1605 Montg. Son. xxxvi. 1.
Fane wald I speir vhat spreit doth me inspire 1630 Misc. Hist. Soc. II. 258.
The rest of my childring … wold fane flie if I could furnish them fetheris
b. With addition of full. a1400 Leg. S. vi. 289.
Ful fane wald I Thare-of be portare anerly Ib. xxi. 223.
Ful fayne I wald myn self sla a1500 Seven S. 1467.
Scho thankit him thairof full fane a1508 Kennedy Pass. Christ 695.
He wald full fane haue refreschit his bak 1513 Doug. iv. xii. 91.
Ful fane Assays scho to spy the hevynys lyght
c. In the superlative fainest. a1400 Leg. S. xlii. 174.
Mare delyt haf I … Thane ony man … To se the thing he fanest vald se 15.. Clar. II. 482.
Those beine the tydandis fainest I wald have 1567 G. Ball. 40.
He … wantit fude quhen he wald fanest dyne 1585 Thanes of Cawdor 187.
The man … at I wald fanest stuid in the warryld
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"Fain adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 22 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/faine_adv>