Pains
/peɪnz/noun
Plural of pain; suffering, distress, or physical discomfort.
Did you know?English pain comes through Old French from Latin poena, meaning “penalty” or “punishment,” the same root behind words like penal and punitive.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kwei-
“to pay, compensate, or make amends”
Latin
Latin
poena
“penalty, punishment, fine”
Old French
Old French
peine
“suffering, trouble, hardship”
Middle English
English
peine
“suffering, distress, pain”
Modern English
English
pain
“physical suffering or mental distress”