fain
喜んで（古語）
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
fain は古英語 fægen「喜んでいる」に由来する古風な語。現代では単独の「うれしい」より would fain do「喜んで〜したい、できれば〜したい」という文語的な型で覚えるのが実用的。gladly より古典文学らしい響きがあり、日常会話では would gladly や would prefer to が普通。
Treat fain as a literary signal meaning “glad” or “willing.” Its most useful surviving pattern is would fain followed by a verb, as in would fain remain, meaning “would gladly remain” or “would prefer to remain.” This fixed construction is easier to remember than trying to use fain freely in modern conversation. Connect it with glad and gladly, but also remember the register difference: fain sounds archaic, poetic, or deliberately old-fashioned. In ordinary present-day English, speakers would normally choose would gladly, would willingly, or would prefer to instead.
fain の類義語・関連語
紛らわしい語
fain の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語 fægen（喜ばしい）から。ゲルマン祖語 *faginaz に遡り、「満足した」が原義。同根語に fawn（媚びる＝喜びを見せる）がある。古英語で「喜んで～する」意味で使われ、現代では古風・文語的表現として残る。
Fain comes from Old English fægen, meaning “glad,” “joyful,” or “pleased,” and is related to a Germanic adjective reconstructed as faginaz. It originally described a person who was pleased or willing. Over time, its common use narrowed, and it now survives chiefly in archaic or literary English, particularly in the construction would fain, where it has the adverbial sense “gladly” or “willingly.”
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