Plaint
/pleɪnt/noun
A lament or complaint, especially in a formal or literary style.
Did you know?Plaint comes through Old French from Latin plangere, a verb for beating the breast in mourning, so the word’s oldest energy is literally ritual grief.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
plangere
“to beat the breast; lament; wail”
Old French
Old French
plaint
“lamentation; complaint”
Middle English
English
plaint
“lament; expression of grief or sorrow”
Modern English
English
plaint
“a lament or complaint, especially in formal or literary use”