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ODE→fain

fain

Flag: gbEnglishOxford Dictionary of English
fain /feɪn / archaic
▸ adjective [with infinitive]
1 pleased or willing under the circumstances:
the traveller was fain to proceed.
2 compelled by the circumstances; obliged:
he was fain to acknowledge that the agreement was sacrosanct.
▸ adverb gladly:
I am weary and would fain get a little rest.
– ORIGIN Old English fægen ‘happy, well pleased’, of Germanic origin, from a base meaning ‘rejoice’; related to fawn2.