WikiWord

English

pain

/ˈpeɪ̯n/ · noun

Meaning

  1. An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt.
  2. The pangs or sufferings of childbirth, caused by contractions of the uterus.
  3. The condition or fact of suffering or anguish especially mental, as opposed to pleasure; torment; distress
  4. An annoying person or thing.
  5. Suffering inflicted as punishment or penalty.
  6. Labour; effort; great care or trouble taken in doing something.
  7. To hurt; to put to bodily uneasiness or anguish; to afflict with uneasy sensations of any degree of intensity; to torment; to torture.
  8. To render uneasy in mind; to disquiet; to distress; to grieve.
  9. To inflict suffering upon as a penalty; to punish.
  10. To hurt; to feel painful.
  11. To feel pain; to hurt.
  12. Any of various breads stuffed with a filling.
  13. A surname.
  14. Acronym of pan-assay interference compound.

Etymology / origin

From Middle English peyne, payne, from Old French and Anglo-Norman peine, paine, from Latin poena (“punishment, pain”), from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ, “bloodmoney, weregild, fine, price paid, penalty”), from Proto-Hellenic *kʷoinā́, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂ (“payment”) (whence also Proto-Slavic *cěnà (“price”)). Doublet of peine. Compare Danish pine, Norwegian Bokmål pine, German Pein, Dutch pijn, Afrikaans pyn. See also pine (the verb). Partly displaced native Old English sār (whence Modern English sore).

Related words

Descendant words

Sources

No citations have been attached yet.