Is Fain A Word - You would fain have stayed. He was very fain, for the young widow was altogether fair and lovely. Oed's earliest evidence for fain is from 1870, in notes and queries. Web the earliest known use of the verb fain is in the 1870s.
Web the earliest known use of the verb fain is in the 1870s. You would fain have stayed. Oed's earliest evidence for fain is from 1870, in notes and queries. He was very fain, for the young widow was altogether fair and lovely.