|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
main
main2 (dial.) of great size XIII; strong, mighty (surviving only in sense ‘sheer’ in phr. by m. force); (dial.) great in number or degree XIV; chief in size, extent, or order XV. Partly repr. OE. mæġen MAIN1 in comps., as mæġenfolc great company of people, mæġenstrengo great strength; partly — rel. ON. megenn, megn strong, powerful, or megin (in combination). There are many special collocations: e.g. m. chance XVI, mainland XIV, † m. sea XVI, m. drain XVIII; from these, by ellipsis. arose sb. uses of main; e.g. (1) prob. from the m. chance, a throw in the game of hazard, the most important part, etc. (now chiefly in phr. in the m.) XVI; (2) from the m. sea, the high sea XVI; (3) from m. drain, chief sewer XVIII.
Hence mainly † vigorously XIII; † greatly XIV; for the most part XVII. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "main." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "main." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-main1.html T. F. HOAD. "main." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-main1.html |
|
Main
Main , river, c.310 mi (500 km) long, formed near Kulmbach, E central Germany, by the confluence of the Roter Main and the Weisser Main, both of which rise in the Fichtelgebirge. It then winds generally west through the rich farmland of central Germany and past the industrial areas of Schweinfurt, Würzburg, Aschaffenburg, and Frankfurt to the Rhine River at Mainz. Navigable from its junction with the Regnitz River, its chief tributary, the Main is an important east-west route. The Ludwig Canal connects it with the Danube River. A recently completed addition to the canal links the Danube with the Rhine, allowing barge traffic from the North Sea to the Black Sea, a distance of more than 2,000 mi (3,200 km). There are about 40 hydroelectric power plants on the Main, of which Griesheim (62,000-kW capacity) is the largest. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Main." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Main." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Main.html "Main." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Main.html |
|
main
main1 / mān/ • adj. chief in size or importance: a main road the main problem is one of resources. ∎ denoting the center of a network, from which other parts branch out: I am seldom at the main office. • n. 1. a principal pipe carrying water or gas to buildings, or taking sewage from them: a faulty gas main. ∎ Brit. a principal cable carrying electricity. 2. (the main) archaic or poetic/lit. the open ocean. 3. Naut. short for mainsail or mainmast. PHRASES: by main force through sheer strength. in the main on the whole; chiefly. main2 • n. 1. hist. a match between fighting cocks. 2. (in the game of hazard) a number (5, 6, 7, 8, or 9) called by a player before dice are thrown. |
|
|
Cite this article
"main." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "main." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-main005.html "main." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-main005.html |
|
main
main2 (in the game of hazard) a number (5, 6, 7, 8, or 9) called by a player before dice are thrown. Recorded from the 16th century (and also used to designate a match between fighting cocks), the word probably comes from the phrase main chance, in the original sense ‘the most important eventuality’.
See also an eye to the main chance. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "main." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "main." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-main1.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "main." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-main1.html |
|
main
main1 Main Street chiefly in the US, used in reference to the materialism, mediocrity, or parochialism regarded as typical of small-town life, from the title of a novel (1920) by Sinclair Lewis.
See also with might and main, Spanish Main. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "main." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "main." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-main.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "main." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-main.html |
|
main
main1 physical strength (surviving only in with might and m.). OE. mæġen = OS. megin, OHG. magan, megin, ON. magn, meg(i)n, f. Gmc. base *maġ- have power; see MAY1.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "main." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "main." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-main.html T. F. HOAD. "main." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-main.html |
|
Main
Main, Germany Moenus A river whose name is derived from the Old European word for water, main, perhaps specifically meaning ‘marsh’.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Main." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Main." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Main.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Main." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Main.html |
|
main
|
|
|
Cite this article
"main." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "main." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-main.html "main." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-main.html |
|
Main
Main (An Mhin) (river) Antrim. ‘The water’.
|
|
|
Cite this article
A. D. MILLS. "Main." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. A. D. MILLS. "Main." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Main.html A. D. MILLS. "Main." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Main.html |
|
main
main •abstain, appertain, arcane, arraign, ascertain, attain, Bahrain, bane, blain, brain, Braine, Cain, Caine, campaign, cane, chain, champagne, champaign, Champlain, Charmaine, chicane, chow mein, cocaine, Coleraine, Coltrane, complain, constrain, contain, crane, Dane, deign, demesne, demi-mondaine, detain, disdain, domain, domaine, drain, Duane, Dwane, Elaine, entertain, entrain, explain, fain, fane, feign, gain, Germaine, germane, grain, humane, Hussein, inane, Jain, Jane, Jermaine, Kane, La Fontaine, lain, lane, legerdemain, Lorraine, main, Maine, maintain, mane, mise en scène, Montaigne, moraine, mundane, obtain, ordain, pain, Paine, pane, pertain, plain, plane, Port-of-Spain, profane, rain, Raine, refrain, reign, rein, retain, romaine, sane, Seine, Shane, Sinn Fein, skein, slain, Spain, Spillane, sprain, stain, strain, sustain, swain, terrain, thane, train, twain, Ujjain, Ukraine, underlain, urbane, vain, vane, vein, Verlaine, vicereine, wain, wane, Wayne
•watch chain • mondaine • Haldane
•ultramundane • Cellophane
•novocaine • sugar cane • marocain
|
|
|
Cite this article
"main." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "main." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-main.html "main." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-main.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
