Where does “complaining” come from?
Complaining comes from Middle English complaynen, from Old French complaindre, from Medieval Latin complangere, combining the Latin prefix com- with a root meaning to lament.
complaining (English): present participle of complain; The act by which...
Definitions
- present participle of complain; The act by which...
Ancestry of “complaining”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | complain | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or... |
| 2 | Middle English | complaynen | — |
| 3 | Old French | complaindre | Alternative form of conplaindre |
| 4 | Old French | conplaindre | to complain; to make a complaint |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | complangere | to bewail, complain |
| 6 | Latin | com- | allomorph of con- |
| 7 | Latin | con- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing... |
| 8 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 9 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |