un·gain·ly  ( ŭn-g ān l ē)
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adj. un·gain·li·er, un·gain·li·est 1. Lacking grace or ease of movement or form; clumsy. 2. Difficult to move or use; unwieldy.
[ UN-1 + obsolete gainly, proper (from Middle English gainli, from gain, from Old Norse gegn, direct).]
un·gainli·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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