plaindre French · revision 16660

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=la plangō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /plɛ̃dʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''plaindre'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''plaindre'', ''pleindre''.^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|plaindre]], [[inh|la|plangō|t=to strike; to beat one's breast in grief; to lament]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|9, 15b) The Latin verb first meant “to strike”, then “to beat one's breast or thighs in mourning”; in Imperial Latin it was used for “to lament, pity, weep”, the meaning the Romance languages kept.^(DHLF 1992) Rey sees an expressive formation, like [[m|la|clangō|t=to resound]], on an Indo-European root [[ine-pro|*pleh₂k-]] also seen in [[grc|πλήσσω|tr=plḗssō|t=to strike]] and in [[cu|плачѫ сѧ|tr=plačǫ sę|t=I lament]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) Littré relates it to [[m|la|plāga|t=blow, wound]], the source of [[plaie]].^(Littré 1873)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|plânge]], [[it|piangere]], [[pro|planher]] and [[ca|planyer]].^(REW 1935)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) uses it for mourning someone's death: ''Plainums ansemble le doel de nostre ami'' “let us lament together the loss of our friend”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The first uses are all about mourning, “to bewail someone's death” (about 1050, 1080), and the reflexive ''se plaindre'' (about 1100) first meant “to show one's grief by tears and laments”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Weakened, ''se plaindre'' came to mean “to express one's dissatisfaction”, with a complement from about 1180, and in law “to lodge a complaint” (1243); it replaced an old intransitive ''plaindre'', used from the 12th to the 17th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) The transitive verb moved from mourning to compassion, “to pity”, with ''être à plaindre'' (Pascal, 1656–57) and ''n'être pas à plaindre'' (Furetière, 1690).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ From the second half of the 13th century ''plaindre'' also meant “to give grudgingly”, a sense that survives in ''ne pas plaindre sa peine'' “to spare no effort” (1452).^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – “To lament someone's death”, ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – Reflexive ''se plaindre'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1225 – The legal term [[plaignant]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1243 – “To lodge a complaint”.^(TLFi)

+ * Second half of the 13th century – “To give grudgingly”, Adam de la Halle.^(TLFi)

+ * 1452 – ''Ne pas plaindre sa peine'', Arnoul Gréban.^(TLFi)

+ * 1552 – Of things, to make plaintive sounds, Ronsard.^(TLFi)

+ * 1656–57 – ''Être à plaindre'', Pascal.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|pity]], feel sorry for: ''je le plains'', ''être à plaindre'', to deserve pity.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Ne pas plaindre'' (something): not to [[m|en|begrudge]] or spare it: ''ne pas plaindre sa peine''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Se plaindre'': to [[m|en|complain]], express discontent: ''se plaindre de quelqu'un'', ''se plaindre que''; to lodge a complaint.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Se plaindre'': to moan, lament, express pain.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[plainte]]

+ * [[plaignant]]

+ * [[plaintif]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[complainte]]

+ * [[plaie]]

+ * [[la|plangō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}