▪ I. † maine, n.1 Obs.
Also 5–6 mayne, Sc. mane, 6–7 mayn.
[Aphetic f. demaine in pain-demaine, demeine. (Cf. manchet.)]
Used attrib. in the following terms: a. maine bread, occas. (Sc.) breid of mane (? also simply mane, quot. c 1470), bread of the finest quality; = pain-demaine, demeine. (The city of York was once famous for a kind of bread so called.)
| 1443 Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1869) I. 7 It is..ordanit that na baxter baik na mayne breid to sell fra hine furthwart, saiffing allenarly at Witsounday [etc.]. c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. ii. xviii. (ed. Laing), And mane full fyne scho brocht in steid of geill. 1509 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 5 And at tharbe skallapis of mayne breid. ? a 1550 Freiris Berwik 160 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 290 And eik ane creill full of breid of mane. Ibid. 376 Mayne breid. 1572 J. Jones Bathes Buckstone 9 b, But these and all other the mayne bread of York excelleth, for that it is of the finest floure of the Wheat well tempered. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 337 Quhyte breid, maine breid, and gingebreid. 1584 Cogan Haven Health iv. (1636) 25 Good bread is made thereof, especially that of Yorke, which they call Maine bread. 1622 in J. J. Cartwright Chapt. Hist. Yks. (1872) 281 Bakers..disobedient in not bakeinge of mayn bread beinge an auncient mistery used in this cittie and in no other citties of this kingdome. |
b. maine flour, flour of the finest quality. maine multure, the portion of ‘maine flour’ payable as multure.
| a 1483 Liber Niger in Househ. Ord. (1790) 70 One yoman in this office [of Bakehouse] for the kinge's mouthe recevyng the mayne floure of the Sergeaunt, by tayle. 1523 Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1869) I. 217 The baillies and counsall ordanis all the maisteris of the baxter craft till content and pay to the fermoraris thair mayne mutter, that is to say, of ilk iiij laid that thai brek aboue ane pek of mayne flour, and gif thai brek les to pay na thing. 1524–5 Ibid. 220 Als thai ordane the saidis baxteris to pay the mayne flour to the saidis fermoraris as vs and wont hes bene in tymes bygane. |
▪ II. † maine, v. Naut. Obs.
Also mayne.
[Aphetic f. amaine v.]
trans. To lower (a sail).
| 1517 R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 59 He made vs to mayne, that ys to sey stryk Downe ower sayles. 1579 T. Stevens in Hakluyt's Voy. (1599) II. ii. 99 When it is tempest almost intollerable for other ships, and maketh them maine all their sailes, these hoise vp, and saile excellent well. |
▪ III. maine
obs. form of mane, meinie.