deign
verbEtymology
From Middle English deinen, deynen (“to consider (something) suitable to one’s dignity or worth, condescend; to appear worthy; to condescend to grant (something), permit, vouchsafe; to regard (someone) as worthy; to consecrate, dedicate (something)”), from Old French daigner, degnier, deigner, deignier (“to condescend, deign”) (modern French daigner), from Latin dignāre, the present active infinitive of dignō (“to deem fitting, suitable, or worthy; to condescend, deign”), from dignus (“fitting, suitable, worthy; worthy of”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to perceive; to take”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs). cognates * Italian degnare * Occitan deinar, denhar
Definitions
To consider it appropriate or worthy to do or give (something), often when it is seen as…
To consider it appropriate or worthy to do or give (something), often when it is seen as beneath one's dignity; to condescend, to vouchsafe.
- Nor vvould vve deigne him buriall of his men, / Till he diſburſed, at Saint Colmes ynch, / Ten thouſand Dollars, to our generall vſe.
- [T]hough this my vvorke, ovvne not vvorth enough to deſerve your patronage, yet ſuch is your benigne humanity, that I am confident you vvill daigne it your protection, under vvhich it vvillingly ſhrovvdes it ſelfe.
- And sure a willing ear she well might deign / To one whose tales may equally engage / The wondering mind of youth, the thoughtful heart of age.
To consider it appropriate or worthy to accept or take (something).
- Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reprove / And of my rurall muſick holdeth ſcorne.
- Thou haſt eſtrang'd thy ſelf, and deigneſt not our land: / Farre off to others novv, thy fauour honour breeds, / And high diſdaine doth cauſe thee ſhun our clime (I feare) […]
Often followed by of
Often followed by of: to consider (someone) as worthy of something; to dignify.
- VVill you not daigne his Majeſty vvith an Anſvver?
›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer
To consider it appropriate or worthy to do something, often when it is seen as beneath…
To consider it appropriate or worthy to do something, often when it is seen as beneath one's dignity; to condescend, to think fit, to vouchsafe.
- He didn’t even deign to give us a nod of the head; he thought us that far beneath him.
- For Edvvard vvill defeind the Tovvne, and thee, / And all thoſe friends, that deine to follovv mee.
- My fathers Palace, Madam, vvill be proud / To entertaine your preſence, if youle daine / To make repoſe vvithin.
The neighborhood
Derived
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at deign. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at deign. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
5 hops · closes at deign
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA