# Maine

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /mɛn/ · frequency rank #5,517

## Definitions
1. A former province of Pays de la Loire, France. Capital: Le Mans.
2. A state of the United States; probably named for the province in France. Capital: Augusta. Largest city: Portland.
3. A town in New York.
4. A town in Outagamie County, Wisconsin; named for the state.
5. A river in Maine, United States, flowing 5.5 miles from Pocomoonshine Lake in Princeton into Crawford Lake in Crawford.
6. University of Maine.

## Etymology
The US state is from French Maine, named by its French explorers after the province in France with the same name; unrelated to the name of the river that flows through it. From Old French Cemaine, from Latin *Cenomania, from the name of the Gaulish Cenomani tribe of Gallia Celtica. The word was rebracketed as ce (“this”) + Maine, and the ce- was lost by the 12th century.

## Easily confused with
- **man** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-man)
- **min** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-min)
- **Mie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mie)
- **make** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-make)
- **many** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-many)
- **mind** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mind)
- **mine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mine)
- **male** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-male)
- **mike** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mike)
- **mile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mile)
- **mate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mate)
- **mini** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mini)
- **mice** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mice)
- **mint** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mint)
- **mann** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mann)
- **mans** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mans)
- **maze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-maze)
- **mare** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mare)
- **ming** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-ming)
- **mina** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maine-vs-mina)

## Common misspellings (5)
`maien`, `mainne`, `manie`, `miane`, `mmaine`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/maine