English
pain
Pain comes from Latin poena ‘punishment, pain’, from Ancient Greek ποινή ‘bloodmoney, weregild, fine, price paid, penalty’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-‘to pay’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂‘payment’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινήpoinḗ‘bloodmoney’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoena‘punishment’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500peyne
- Englishearliest quotation 1629pain
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-‘to pay’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂‘payment’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινήpoinḗ‘bloodmoney’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoena‘punishment’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500peyne
- Englishearliest quotation 1629pain
Earliest quotation: 1629, Francis Bacon: “We will, by way of mulct or pain, lay…”
The story
Partly displaced native Old English sār (whence Modern English sore).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’
poetry, poem, poet, titanium, whey, onomatopoeia, 22 more
through Ancient Greek ποινή ‘bloodmoney, weregild, fine, price paid, penalty’
through Latin poena ‘punishment, pain’
Today it means
noun An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- / pain