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Mains (Scottish Gaelic: Mànas) in Scotland normally refers to farms. It is a pseudo-plural, actually being a Lowland Scots corruption of the French demesne, and so is never used in the form "Main", except occasionally "Main farm", although this usage is not traditional. A mains is the equivalent of a home farm, or sometimes even a manor in England, and was usually a larger farm on an estate, or at least the one with more fertile ground.
Mains occurs frequently in Scottish placenames, usually in the form "Mains of X", without the definite article. The best known example of its use in a Scottish placename is Davidson's Mains, now a suburb of Edinburgh, which does not follow the standard form. Usage of the term tends to be most frequent in the north east of the country, and east coast, extending down into Fife. In some cases recently, new owners have renamed various mains "manor" in ignorance of the distinction in Scotland, and there are also occasional instances of the media using the tautology, "Mains of X farm".
Mains is a family name and a sept of the Scottish clan Gunn.
See also
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