pain English · revision 2620

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1280|origins=grc ποινή}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /peɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|peyne]], [[bor|fro|peine|t=difficulty, woe, suffering; punishment]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[la|poena|t=punishment, penalty]], in Late Latin also “torment, suffering”,^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(COED 2004) from [[grc|ποινή|tr=poinḗ|t=penalty, payment for blood spilled]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) related to Greek [[m|grc|τίνειν|tr=tínein|t=to pay]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*kʷey-|alt=*kwei-|t=to pay, atone, compensate]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) Latin poena is also the source of [[penal]], [[penalty]] and [[pine]] “to long for”, which is a doublet.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988) The verb is Middle English peynen, from Old French pener.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Punishment, penalty”: about 1280^(Barnhart 1988) or 1297.^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates peine “the agony suffered by Christ” to the late 13th century, and punishment for a crime, including fines, to about 1300.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The condition one feels when hurt, the opposite of pleasure, is from about 1300, including mental suffering and grief,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) as are the torments of hell.^(Etymonline) Bodily suffering in particular is from 1377,^(OED 1989) and the pains of childbirth from before 1300.^(OED 1989) The old sense “punishment” survives in ''on pain of death''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “Effort, exertion” is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and ''pains'', “great care”, from 1528, in Tyndale.^(Barnhart 1988) ''To put out of one's pain'' is from 1572.^(OED 1989) ''No pain, no gain'' is associated with exercise from the 1980s, but ''No Pains, No Gains'' is the title of a 1648 poem by Robert Herrick.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Pain in the neck'' is from 1924, and a pain, an annoying person, from the 1930s.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) ''Painkiller'' is from 1845.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to strive” about 1300, “to punish” before 1375 and “to cause pain” about 1375.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1280 – punishment.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – suffering; verb, to strive.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1375 – verb, to cause pain.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1377 – bodily suffering.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1528 – ''pains'', great care.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1648 – ''No Pains, No Gains''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1845 – ''painkiller''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1924 – ''pain in the neck''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An unpleasant physical feeling caused by injury or illness.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Mental or emotional [[suffering]]; [[distress]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(plural)'' Great care or effort: ''take pains''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # ''(informal)'' An annoying person or thing.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Punishment, now only in ''on pain of''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cause pain or distress to.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[painless]]

+ * [[painlessly]]

+ * [[painlessness]]

+ * [[afterpain]]

+ * [[painstaking]]

+ * [[painkiller]]

+ * [[growing pains]]

+ * [[pain in the neck]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pained]]

+ * [[painful]]

+ * [[penal]]

+ * [[penalty]]

+ * [[punish]]

+ * [[pine]]

+ * [[subpoena]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An unrelated ''pain'', “bread”, from French, from Latin pānem, was frequent in ''Piers Plowman'' and is now used of French bread, as in ''pain perdu''.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}