complain

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kəmˈpleɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English compleinen, borrowed from Old French complaign- (“to lament”), the stem of complaindre,^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *complangere (“to beat the breast”), from com-, intensive, and plangere (“to strike, lament”) (see plaint),^[2][3][4] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *plak- (“to strike”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To find fault or accuse: about 1370, in Chaucer, in Barnhart;^[2] to lament or bewail, about 1374 in the OED and about 1375 in Barnhart.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline traces the development from expressing suffering to expressing a grievance or blame.^[3] The transitive sense, to lament something, died out in the 17th century.^[3][5] Making a formal accusation to an authority is from the late 14th century.^[3] To report pain or illness, as in complain of headaches, is from 1607,^[5] and, chiefly in poetry, to make a mournful sound from the 1690s.^[3] Complaint is from about 1380.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1370 – to find fault.^[2]
• c. 1374 – to lament.^[5]
• 1607 – to report pain or illness.^[5]
• 17th century – the transitive sense, to lament, dies out.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To express dissatisfaction or annoyance; to grumble.
2. To make a formal accusation or report of a wrong.
3. To report a pain or illness: complain of a headache.

Word family

• complainer
• complainingly
• complainable
• complainant
• uncomplained
• uncomplaining

Related words

• complaint
• plaint
• plaintive
• plaintiff
• plankton

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press