Complain
/kəmˈpleɪn/noun
To express dissatisfaction, pain, or annoyance about something.
Did you know?In early French and Latin, this word was tied to public lamentation and emotional outcry, so complaining once sounded less like whining and more like a ritualized cry of distress.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plak-
“to strike, beat, or make a sound”
Latin
Latin
plangere
“to strike the breast; lament, bewail”
Late Latin
Latin
complangere
“to lament together, bewail”
Old French
Old French
complaindre
“to lament, bewail”
Middle English
English
compleinen
“to lament, make an outcry”
Modern English
English
complain
“to express dissatisfaction or annoyance aloud”